new zealand winegrower feb-march 2015

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FEATURES

8 The Prospects For 2015 And A Bit Beyond

As we head towards vintage 2015, what are the scientists predicting, tonnage wise in New Zealand. Rob Agnew and Mike Trought from Plant and Food Research at the Marlborough Research Centre provide some insights.

10 Protector Paton Wins Award One of the beloved winemakers of

Martinborough has been acknowledged by the Minister of Conservation, for his environmental work – beyond the vineyard. Find out why Clive Paton was awarded the Loder Cup late last year.

12 Meet Your Board Just who are the members of the board

of NZ Winegrowers that you elect? This month, we begin a series looking at how they became involved and what their thoughts are on the past and future of our wine industry.

40 Extreme Diversity Deep in the heart of Marlborough is a small

parcel of land, 11.5 hectares in total, that has become somewhat of a vine university. Hans and Therese Herzog have 29 different varieties planted – many unheard of in the rest of New Zealand.

REGULARS

4 Editorial Tessa Nicholson

5 From the CEO Philip Gregan

6 In Brief News From Around The Country

26 Young Guns Waipara

36 Sommelier’s Corner Cameron Douglas MS

38 Bob’s Blog Bob Campbell MW

62 Calendar Wine Happenings in New Zealand and

Away

64 Research Supplement The Latest Science and Research Projects

Funded by NZ Winegrowers

COVER SHOTAronui Wines - NelsonPHOTO SUPPLIED BY ARONUI WINES

16

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4 // NZ WINEGROWER FEBRUARY/MARCH 2015

FROM THE EDITOR TESSA NICHOLSON

EDITOR Tessa [email protected]

CORRESPONDENTS

Auckland: Joelle Thomson [email protected]

Gisborne: Justine [email protected]

Hawkes Bay: Mary Shanahan [email protected]

Nelson: Neil Hodson [email protected]

Central Otago: Mark Orton [email protected]

ADVERTISING

Sales Manager &Upper North Island:Stephen [email protected]: 09 913 9637Mobile: 021 963 166

Central North Island:Ted [email protected]: 07 854 6292Mobile: 021 832 505

Lower North Island:Mark MacfarlanePh: 04 234 6239Mobile: 021 453 914

South Island:Kaye Sutherland [email protected]: 03 376 5552Mobile: 021 221 1994

CIRCULATION &

SUBSCRIPTIONS

Lorraine Rudelj [email protected] Ph: 09 303 3527 Fax: 09 302 2969

New Zealand Winegrowers PO Box 90 276, Auckland Mail Centre, New Zealand

PUBLISHING &

PRE-PRESS

Rural News Group PO Box 331100, Takapuna, Auckland 0740 Ph: 09 307 0399

Location: Top Floor, 29 Northcroft Street, Takapuna, Auckland 0622

Publisher: Brian Hight

Managing Editor: Adam Fricker

Production: Dave Ferguson,

Rebecca Williams

Published by Rural News Group Ltd under authority of New Zealand Winegrowers (jointly representing Wine Institute of New Zealand Inc and New Zealand Grape Growers Council Inc). Unless directly attributed, opinions expressed in the magazine are not necessarily those of Rural News Group and/or its directors or management, New Zealand Winegrowers or its constituent organisations.

Published every second month. One free copy is mailed to every member of the Institute, the Council, the New Zealand Society of Viticulture & Oenology and the New Zealand Vine Improvement Group, and to such other persons or organisations as directed by the owners, with provision for additional copies and other recipients

to be on a subscription basis.

ISSN 1174-5223

W elcome to 2015. A new year, new opportunities and a new vintage.

As I write this in Marlborough, the region is experiencing another

cloudless, sunny and extremely hot day. It has been a similar situation in most wine growing regions.

What started out as a cool December, causing concern about flowering, turned into a much warmer end to the year, evolving into an even warmer January. What the impact of those cooler weeks followed by hot months will have on vintage 2015, is still being evalu-ated.

Although we take a look at what the predictions are for vintage, with Dr Mike Trought and Rob Agnew from Plant and Food Research at the Marlborough Research Centre. Their predictions are a smaller crop than 2014 provided, which will make most in the industry smile. How they have come to this potential scenario is explained in full this issue.

With hardly any rain in certain parts of the country for weeks, keeping the vines healthy may be an issue for some. Irri-gating in a smart way will be vital as we head towards veraison. And given the pressure being placed on all land-based indus-tries using water, being smart is essential. Andrew Curtis from Irrigation New Zealand explains how you as a grower can achieve this.

Coinciding with the New Year NZ Winegrower begins a number of new features. Just as sustainability is such an important facet of the industry, so too is Organics. But for many growers, the ways and meth-ods of organics are unknown. So this issue, we begin a series that looks specifically at how to deal with the changing seasonal needs within the vineyard, in an organic way. Viticultural con-

sultant, Bart Arnst begins the series focusing on how to get your fruit ripened and disease free.

We also take an inside look at the make up of the NZW board. The members that you elect are responsible for the path the industry will take in the years to come. So who are these board members, how did they become involved and what are their thoughts on where we have come from and where we are going?

First up NZW Board Chair Steve Green and Deputy Chair John Clarke.

And for those that haven’t seen the results of the vineyard register, the snapshot below shows how little things have changed since 2013. Producing area has grown by 1 percent, but just about every other statistic shows New Zealand wine in a holding pattern, in terms of percentages, varieties and grower numbers. I wonder if that will change in the next 12 months. For full details of the 2014 Vineyard Register, go to www.nzwine.com

1New Zealand Winegrowers Vineyard Register 2014

2014 - A SNAPSHOT

up 1% on 2013

27,596.3ha WHITE

TOP PRODUCING VARIETIES

WHI

TE V

ARIE

TIES RE

D VA

RIET

IES

TOTAL PRODUCING AREA BY VARIETY

7,913.8ha RED TOTAL PRODUCING

AREA 2014

35,510 ha

2046NUMBER OF VINEYARDS

17.4haAVERAGE AREA OF VINEYARD

CANTERBURY 193.1HA 0.5% TOTAL PRODUCING AREA

WAIPARA VALLEY 1,254.6HA 3.6% TOTAL PRODUCING AREA

OTAGO 1,931.8HA 5.5% TOTAL PRODUCING AREA

NELSON 1,122.7HA 3.2% TOTAL PRODUCING AREA

MARLBOROUGH 22,907HA 64.9% TOTAL PRODUCING AREA

WAIRARAPA 995.1HA 2.8% TOTAL PRODUCING AREA

HAWKE’S BAY 4,774.3HA 13.5% TOTAL PRODUCING AREA

GISBORNE 1,914.6HA 5.4% TOTAL

PRODUCING AREA

WAIKATO 24.6HA 0.1% TOTAL PRODUCING AREA

AUCKLAND 347.9HA 1% TOTAL PRODUCING AREA

NORTHLAND 44.4HA 0.1% TOTAL PRODUCING AREA

SAUVIGNON BLANC

73%

CHARDONNAY 12%

PINOT GRIS 9%

RIESLING 3%

GEWÜRZTRAMINER 1%

PINOT NOIR70%

MERLOT 16%

SYRAH 6% CAB SAV 4%

MALBEC/CAB FRANC 3%

20,029haPRODUCING AREA OF SAUVIGNON BLANC

OTHER 2%OTHER 2%

www.nzwine.com

FROM THE CEO PHILIP GREGAN

NZ WINEGROWER FEBRUARY/MARCH 2015 // 5

W hile 2015 is barely underway it seems already that the New Year promises to be another important one for the industry.

In export markets, 2014 ended with positive signs in many markets. Looking ahead it almost seems certain that 2015 will be the year in which the USA becomes the single largest export market for our wine. Export value to USA rose over $50 million in the past year. A similar performance in the year ahead would push USA exports up to $400 million, and with Canada exports also growing strongly, this would mean North American exports will come very close to $500 million. This growth reflects continuing strong demand for our wines in these markets plus the benefits of a slightly weaker New Zealand currency compared with the $US.

On the other hand, exports to Australia are under some real currency pressure at the moment. As has been noted in the media in recent weeks, the $NZ is at post-float highs against the Australian dollar, with some pundits predicting currency parity in the year ahead. The high dollar will be affecting returns to wineries in what has been our most valuable wine market since 2008. Let’s hope the forecasts of parity are off the mark!

There were a couple of other interesting developments in export markets in 2014 that portend well for 2015. To the UK, export value rose 19% to over $330 million, a record level, while in market prices were firm with New Zealand still having, by a very comfortable margin, the highest average price in that market. In China growth has returned to the market with export value up over 20% in the most recent 12 months, a solid turnaround from a decline of over 30% in the previous year.

Domestically sales of New Zealand wine in our home market lifted in 2014 on the

back of increased supply from the 2014 vintage. With the New Zealand economy still performing well there are clearly some opportunities here at home, but as always wineries will be wary of inflation-indexed excise increases and other regulatory

impositions that governments dream up from time to time.

On the policy front, 2015 looks set to be an important year. Customs is working on a Customs and Excise review, while we are hopeful that there will finally be some movement on GIs and improved bulk wine controls. The long awaited TPP negotiations may come to a conclusion, but just how important that may be will entirely depend on the deal New Zealand has been able to extract from the USA, Canada, Japan and the other negotiating nations.

Vintage, of course, is now not that far away. 2014 was, of course, marked by the record harvest of 445,000 tonnes of grapes. All the signs to date are that the harvest will be down on that level, but as I keep telling the journalists who enquire about vintage progress at this time of the year, there is a long, long way to go before 2015 is safely housed in wineries. May the recent

warm weather continue!Finally, and perhaps most importantly,

2015 will be the year the industry makes a final decision about the future shape of the organisation that represents it.

As members will be well aware, NZ Winegrowers consulted with growers and wineries post-Bragato on future structure and governance options for the organisation. Following feedback from members, at its December meeting the Board decided on a final proposal to be placed before members.

The final proposal that has been agreed by the Board to put to members contains a number of significant changes to the options presented to growers and wineries in 2014.

These changes reflect the Boards consideration of the feedback from members. We are confident the final proposal represents a positive synthesis of the comments received from members.

However, the final decision on the proposal is one for members, not the Board, to make. To that end, votes will be held among growers and wineries (post-vintage) on the proposal. The votes for growers and wineries will be held separately and will be conducted on the same basis as the six yearly levy votes.

That means for the proposal to succeed, it will need to be supported by both a majority of members (who vote) and a majority of the levies paid by voting members.

So watch out for details about the structure and governance proposal. Your vote will decide the future shape of your organisation, so make sure you understand the proposal details and then exercise your democratic right by voting!

All the best for vintage 2015 and what promises to be a most interesting year ahead. ■

The final proposal that has been agreed by the Board to put to members, contains a number of significant changes to the options presented to growers and wineries in 2014. These changes reflect the Boards consideration of the feedback from members.

THE IMPORTANCE OF 2015


INBRIEF

NATIONAL

Young Winemaker CompetitionCalling all young winemakers under the age of 30 – you are being encouraged to enter the first ever New Zealand Young Winemaker competition. Based along the same lines as the national Young Viticulturist, winemakers will be selected from each region, to compete against each other on a national level. NZW are supporting a committee based in Marlborough to get the competition off the ground, aiming to celebrate those that spend their time creating the wines that have made this country famous. Entries opened on February 1, and the competition will see the contestants taking part in some rigorous testing. While final details have yet to be confirmed, the contestants are likely to have to undergo lab analysis, component blending, blind tasting along with other relevant winemaking rituals.For more details, go to @NZYoungWinemkr on Twitter and @NZYoungwinemaker on facebook.

AUCKLAND

Stalwart Honoured Joe Babich’s long history in the New Zealand wine industry was recognised in the New Year’s Honours, when he was awarded an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit.Babich who is the managing director of the country’s second oldest label, was quick to praise the rest of the Babich family, for his own honour, claiming that it was more a family acknowledgement than an individual one.Babich Wines will turn 100 next year, with major celebrations planned. The company was begun by his father Josip back in 1916. These days, the family owned business is run by Joe, his brother Peter and nephew David.

Applications Open for Bragato Trust – Student Awards, Scholarships, FellowshipsThe Bragato Trust was set up in February

2008 with a bequest from the estate of

Jan Bragato Colville, granddaughter of

Romeo Bragato and a donation from the

New Zealand Grape Grower’s Council.

The aim and objectives of the Trust

include;

To provide scholarships for graduates

and exceptional undergraduates of

recognised viticultural institutes in New

Zealand and further qualifications in the

viticulture industry in New Zealand or

elsewhere; to promote the development

and dissemination of viticulture

knowledge and practice in New Zealand.

For 2015 the Trust is seeking applications

for;

Research fellowships up to $15,000

Post Graduate Scholarships up to $15,000

Undergraduate awards up to $3,500

Application forms can be obtained from

the website, www.bragato.org.nz or www.

[email protected]

Villa Maria’s Movember

Well done to the male members of Villa Maria, all over the country, who got behind the Movember fundraising effort. Over $22,000 was raised for the cause, with the majority of the money coming from friends and family, not large corporates. Given how good the guys all look, (guess that is a subjective comment), I wonder how many have retained their mo’s, or whether they are now preparing to fill in the gaps with full beards once vintage arrives.Regardless – congrats guys!

Waiheke Winemakers Widen FocusTempranillo grapes are now growing on Waiheke Island, which heralds a change in direction for this somewhat far-flung winemaking destination.The Waiheke Island restaurant and winery, Mudbrick Vineyard, released its second ever Reserve Tempranillo in late 2014, although quantities are small and the wine is also likely to be destined to the on-trade; restaurants and bars. Winemaker Patrick Newton says the first vintage of Tempranillo grapes was 2012 but all of the fruit went into the winery’s rosé. A reserve Tempranillo was then made in 2013, as in 2014. “Every year we are learning in the vineyard and we think we are close to knowing what the vines need. The fruit seems to get better and better. The vines were planted in 2008,” Newton says, of the Tempranillo grapes.The new plantings, though small, indicate a widening of focus for Waiheke Island winemakers, who initially focused almost solely on Cabernets Franc, Sauvignon and Merlot for their reds and Chardonnay for their white wine production.


New Cellar Door The latest in a long line of welcoming cellar doors in the Martinborough area, opened its doors to the public on December 27. Colombo Wines, owned by Swiss born Baptist Sieber and Irish born Carolyn Irwin, is in Todds Road, just a short stroll from the Martinborough town square. The couple’s own vineyard has 15-year-old Pinot Noir vines, with the winemaking duo producing Pinot and Rosé, while they source fruit from other growers in the region to produce Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay and Syrah.The cellar door also provides a tappas style menu, with the food carefully chosen to match the wines. Open Thursday to Sunday, 12.30 -5pm, they are available for tastings on the other days by appointment only.

MARTINBOROUGH

Falcons and Wine Visitors to Brancott’s Heritage Centre in Marlborough will get the opportunity to get up close to one of New Zealand’s most endangered birds – the Karearea, or New Zealand Falcon. Only 3000 pairs of the bird that adorns the $20 note are thought to exist in the wild, meaning most people would never get an opportunity to see one. But a long-standing partnership between Brancott Estate and Marlborough Falcon Trust has seen the opening of the Marlborough Falcon Trust Falcon Valley, at the base of the Heritage Centre itself. For a donation, visitors can walk down to the aviary where a pair of rescued falcons are domiciled in a specially built aviary. On top of that, visitors can book to see a falcon in full flight, as part of the Brancott Estate Falcon Encounter. A viewing area has been established within the vineyard itself, allowing people to see the falcon flying. New Zealand’s only raptor can reach speeds of up to 200 kph, making the display a one of a kind in New Zealand.Brancott Estate have been donating a dollar for every bottle of their Living Land Series, to the Falcon Trust, raising over $500,000 during the five-year partnership.

MARLBOROUGH

Diana Dobson from the Marlborough Falcon Trust with Fern.

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YIELDUPDATE

THE PROSPECTS FOR 2015 AND A BIT BEYONDR O B A G N E W A N D M I K E T R O U G H T, P L A N T A N D F O O D R E S E A R C H , M A R L B O R O U G H R E S A R C H C E N T R E

the location of the vineyard in the Marlborough region as reported in VineFacts on 24 December 2014 and http://wineclimate.co.nz/. As a result the effects of sudden changes in temperature experi-enced this season will have dif-ferent effects on fruit set. For example, we can anticipate that vines flowering in early Decem-ber will have lower fruit set than those flowering in the second half of the month. Further research is underway to attempt to improve the sub-regionality of the yield prediction model.

Factors other than temperature that are likely to have moderated the yield potential for 2015

The yield model can currently only provide an indication of potential yield of a given variety at a regional scale. It is impor-tant that growers assess the yield potential of their vineyard. Wine companies generally have good yield assessment protocols. Alter-natively, additional protocols have been published in previous Vine-Facts™ or can be found elsewhere (Allen & Trought 2013).

Other factors that may moder-ate yield include:

A number of frost events in late September and again in Novem-ber 2014 in the Marlborough (and elsewhere) region damaged vines. In some cases (particularly the September frost), damage to the primary shoot will result in a less fruitful secondary shoot devel-oping, and this may explain some

Sacred Hill, Hawke’s Bay. PHOTO SUPPLIED BY NZW

Introduction

T he first step to successful wine making is managing the crop to an appropriate yield and fruit composi-

tion. This requires an understand-ing of the factors determining the various components of yield (number of shoots per hectare, the number of bunches per shoot and berries per bunch and the size of those berries). Early prediction of the potential yield enables grow-ers to apply vineyard practices to modify the yield and fruit compo-sition to better achieve the target required. Unexpectedly high or low yields can have a negative effect on the whole supply chain, putting strain on processing and marketing fruit and wine.

The sudden, season to sea-son changes in yield, observed in New Zealand can be attributed to changes in the overwintering car-bohydrate (and possibly other e.g.

nutrient) reserves in the grapevine and/or weather events at specific stages of vine development. Some changes in yield can be attributed to late spring frost events (for example the low average yield of all varieties in 2003).

In this article, we will first con-sider the prospects for the 2015 harvest and some of the factors that are determining yield and fruit development. While much of the focus is on Marlborough Sauvi-gnon Blanc, some consideration is given to other varieties, and many of the environmental responses discussed can be applied to all varieties of grapevine

Yield predictions for 2015

A Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc yield model (Trought 2005), has been used to predict potential yields over a number of growing seasons.

Using the model, estimated inflorescence initiation and flow-ering temperatures for Marlbor-ough Sauvignon Blanc have again been above average. The initiation temperature for the 2015 harvest (14 December 2013 to 17 Janu-ary 2014) was an average of 8.0 growing degree days (base 10oC) compared to the long-term aver-age (1988 to 2014) of 7.3.

The average flowering tem-perature (9 December 2014 to 9 January 2015) was 7.9 growing degree days, again well above the long-term average of 7.1.

Overall this would suggest that the 2015 potential Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc yield will be just under 40% above the long-term average. One year ago in January 2014 the yield at harvest in 2014 was projected to be 60% above average.

The date at which a particular variety flowers is influenced by


of the reduced fruitfulness being reported on Pinot Noir vineyards.

High yielding vineyards in 2014 may have had poor overwinter-ing carbohydrate reserves. Inad-equate reserves result in poor and uneven spring shoot growth. Inad-equate reserves can also result in inflorescence abortion during budburst, resulting in a decreased bunch number per shoot and vine yield. At the same time, lower reserves can result in the remain-ing bunches being smaller.

Low temperatures, as occurred just prior to budburst in 2014, have also been shown to reduce bunch weight.

Influence of yield on fruit development

Grapevine yield (or more spe-cifically the leaf area: fruit weight ratio) can influence fruit devel-opment rates from flowering to harvest. For example canopy

trimming from 12 to six leaves can extend the time from flowering to véraison by seven days (Parker et al. 2014). A reduction in yield by 50% has a smaller effect (Parker et al. 2014). However, grapevine yield can slow the rate of soluble solids accumulation and the time taken for fruit to ripen from véraison to harvest.

Data from the regional Sauvi-gnon Blanc vineyard study indi-cates that the time from véraison (8oBrix) to harvest at 22oBrix increases by approximately 3 days, per kg of fruit on the vine.

The high yields experienced last season were a contributing factor to later than predicted harvest dates, given the warmer than average early part of the sea-son experienced from budburst to flowering.

If the full potential yield of 40% above average for Sauvi-gnon Blanc in Marlborough is

realised the downstream impact is that (without thinning) com-mercial maturity will probably be some 15 days later than average. The phenology this season is cur-rently tracking very close to the long term average which would suggest that blocks that are typi-cally harvested later than the first week of April are likely to reach maturity in late April this season. With the 2014 vintage experience in mind growers should consider the quality and income risks asso-ciated with a later harvest as part of the decision making process on whether to crop thin in 2015.

Prospects for 2016 and beyond

Using the initiation tempera-tures in December 2014 - January 2015 and the long-term average flowering temperature, yields for 2016 are currently estimated to be 15% above the long-term average.

Using temperature data from 1988 to 2015, suggests a progres-sive temperature driven seasonal yield increase of 1.5% per annum.

Increased planting being observed this year (estimated to be 1,600ha by Jamie Sigmund of the Marlborough District Council) will result in greater production when these vineyards come on-stream in three to four years.

As part of a three year New Zea-land Winegrowers/Marlborough Research Centre project to convert the VineFactsTM newsletter from a regional to a national subscrip-tion service a special free edition of VinefactsTM, outlining yield forecast information for vintage 2015, was prepared by Dr Mike Trought and Rob Agnew at Plant & Food Research for distribution to all members of New Zealand Winegrowers. The spe-cial edition can also be downloaded from the members’ area of nzwine.com ■

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REGIONSMARTINBOROUGH

I f pioneering one of New Zealand’s most highly applauded Pinot Noirs is not enough of an achievement,

M artinborough wine make r Clive Paton is now clocking up a string of environmental awards for his conservation work. The latest one is the Loder Cup for 2014, which he was awarded by Conservation Minister Maggie Barry in Wellington, in October last year. The award to Paton was

in recognition for his work in supporting the Project Crimson charitable trust (which protects and reforests pohutukawa and endangered Northern rata) and for his intensive other involvement in environmental work.

Paton grows rata from seed and, over the past decade, he has planted not only his own rata seedlings but over 50,000 other trees at the Ata Rangi Bush Block; a 130 hectare, partly Department

of Conservation-covenanted area of land, which is adjacent to the Aorangi Forest Park in the South Wairarapa.

He also founded and is c h a i r m a n o f t h e A o r a n g i Restoration Trust, which works to restore biodiversity in the Aorangi Forest Park. And he is on the board of the Pukaha Mount Bruce National Wildlife Centre in the northern Wairarapa.

Paton was nominated for the Loder Cup 2014 by the Wellington Conservation Board but says that he was unaware of it, until about a month prior to the award presentation when he received a phone call from the Department of Conservation.

“That call was to ask if I was available on the day of presentation in October 2014, so they sort of let the cat out of the bag, so to speak,” he says.

The Wellington Conservation Board’s nomination for Paton described him as “a leader with incredible vision for what can be

achieved in our environment. “ H e i s m o t i v a te d b y a

philosophy of looking after the environment today so it can be enjoyed and cherished by his grandchildren and others in the community.”

Paton’s environmental work was also recognised when he received an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit in 2012. But neither that win nor the Loder Cup suggest to him that he can rest on his conservation laurels, he says. While Paton says he doesn’t need the win to affirm his own commitment to the environment, he is pleased to receive the recognition because it enables him to share the importance of conservation work with those who volunteer to work with him.

“This win is great for the people around me from Dad’s Army; the group of Lion’s in Martinborough, who help hugely with the environmental work in this region. It also recognises those who look after the penguin boxes on the

PROTECTOR PATON WINS AWARDJ O E L L E T H O M S O N

Minister of Conservation Maggie Barry and Clive Patton with the Loder Cup.

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south Wairarapa coast. It says to them that we are on the right track, if the conservation movement recognizes the work that we are doing. My win feeds back to the other people around me,” he says.

“There is a whole list of people who help and I do have to take stock occasionally and thank god that there are a lot of people out there who care about and are keen to help with the environmental work we do.”

Among those who assist him in his environmental work are a group who catch rabbits, which Paton is then able to feed onto the traps.

“This work is great. It saves me the time and is a natural way of making the environmental work self sustaining.

“There are a lot of people who like to be part of something that they believe in but don’t know how to organize it and don’t have the

time to go out and do it themselves so they are happy to be led and be part of something that helps our environment; either getting rid of predators or a survey line.”

The most time consuming part of his environmental work is in finding the funding for it.

“A huge amount of our time in environmental work is spent in finding the money to fund what we are trying to do.

“It takes longer than doing the work itself, but that’s the case for most people who are working for community organisations, so we have to just go with that,” Paton says.

The Loder Cup is named after the late English botanist, Gerald Loder, who was a strong advocate of New Zealand’s indigenous flora and donated the cup in 1926 to “encourage and honour New Zealanders who work to investigate, promote, retain and

cherish our indigenous flora.” Anne Lawrence, chair of the Wellington Conservation Board, describes Paton as a person who is a mix of vision and action.

“One minute he’ll be outlining a big, bold idea for how things can be in 30 years’ time, and the next he’ll be setting possum traps or penguin nesting boxes down on the coast,” she says.

While Paton is grateful for

the recognition of the Loder Cup award, and for the support of the key people around him, he says that he hopes its biggest spin off will be to encourage others to get involved in their own community’s local conservation programmes.

“Making real progress in conservation demands as much, if not more, tomorrow than it did today, so best I get on with it.” ■[email protected]

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BOARDPROFILE

STEVE GREEN, PRINCIPAL OF CARRICK WINES IN CENTRAL OTAGO. I AM ELECTED FROM THE CATEGORY 1 WINERIES.

What Is Your Background In The Wine Industry?

Barbara and I planted our vineyard 20 years ago and formed Carrick in 1999. We were part of Mt Difficulty for the first couple of years, but went on to do our own thing with our first vintage in 2000.

When Did You First Become A NZW Board Member?

I’ve been on the Board for seven years.

What Inspired You To Stand For The NZW Board?

Not sure if inspiration is the right word. I had been involved with industry organisations including a stint as President of Central Otago Winegrowers and Chair of the marketing arm – Central Otago Pinot Noir Ltd. A few people from around the country asked me if I would put up my hand and here I am. I guess I have a real interest in the industry, how it works and the people in it.

What Committees Are You Involved With And Why Those?

As Chair, I’m automatically a member of the Finance

C o m m i t t e e . I ’ m a l s o a m e m b e r

of the Advocacy Committee, which m a k e s s e n s e because I am the g o - t o e l e c t e d member in our relationship with Government. I n i t i a l l y I w a s

a m e m b e r o f t h e M a r k e t i n g

Committtee where I believe there is a need

to have interests from all winery sectors to

ensure that our programmes

and policies work for all.

As A Representative Of Your Region – What Are The Major Concerns Of Those Members?

As soon as you sit around the Board you are expected to work for the good of the whole industry. Representation becomes a minor part of the role, and, of course, I wasn’t elected as a regional representative but as a Category 1 Winery. I deal with concerns from all members. Sometimes they are specific – needing help to deal with a problem that affects an individual member or a group of members. Often concerns are more general. There is no doubt that the biggest concern that members have is the on-going viability of their businesses, and the need to protect the industry’s exemplary reputation for quality wine.

What Do You Believe Is The Greatest Hurdle Moving Forward For NZ Wine?

Continuing to produce quality grapes and quality wine on which our businesses are based. There are many challenges in overcoming this hurdle, from biosecurity risks to maintaining the standards that the world demands if we are to continue to receive premium prices for our wine.

What Issue Do You Believe Needs A Higher Priority Than It Is Currently Receiving – And Why?

Often our (New Zealand Winegrowers) priorities are not

the priorities of those that we engage with. I would love to see conclusion on issues like GIs which are essential in protecting our New Zealand, regional and ultimately our own business brands. Similarly we need to have robust oversight over the ultimate positioning of wine exported in bulk – unfortunately these things take time.

What Would You Say Is The Greatest Achievement NZ Wine Has Accomplished And Why?

There are many. As a category New Zealand Wine has an enviable position in quality perception and pricing around the world. That hasn’t just happened and it’s based on building blocks like the marketing of the New Zealand wine brand, sustainability programmes, leading edge research and a lot of hard work. Every wine producing country in the world would like our reputation and position.

What Is Your Personal Vision For The Future Of New Zealand Wine? How Do We Get There?

To maintain that place and to grow the value of New Zealand wine. To get there - smart marketing, stronger sustainability, more innovation and more hard work.

At an organisational level, a single entity – New Zealand Winegrowers Inc. - where every member’s interests are valued and heard. ■

MEET YOUR BOARDOver the next few months, NZ Winegrower is profiling the people you elected to the Board of NZW.

First up, the Chair Steve Green and Deputy Chair John Clarke.


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JOHN CL ARKE GISBORNE G R O W E R E L E C T E D A S PRESIDENT OF THE NZGG COUNCIL

What Is Your Background In The Wine Industry?

I have been growing grapes in Gisborne for the past 35 years supplying a number of companies many of whom have been the subject of merger and acquisition over that time. We first planted Muller Thurgau grapes but nowadays our predominant variety is Chardonnay mainly for sparkling wine but also supplied to a winery as a varietal.

When Did You First Become A NZW Board Member?

I became an alternate eight years ago and a full board member seven years ago.

What Inspired You To Stand For The NZW Board?

I was Chairman of Gisborne Winegrowers for 10 years until 2012 and elected to the NZGGC representing the Gisborne region during that time. I was asked to put my name forward as President of the NZGGC in 2012 on the retirement of the previous chair and as they say the rest is history. I guess any inspiration or desire comes from wanting to be part of a dynamic and growing industry and one that in the 90’s because of other commitments I was unable to become involved in.

What Committees Are You Involved With And Why Those?

I am NZW Deputy Chair and a member of the Finance Committee. I Chair the Advocacy Committee. This committee deals with a basket of issues that can impact on the ability of the industry to operate nationally and internationally.

I also Chair the Project Governance Group of the Lifestyle Wines Project representing

NZW. This seven year project is well through its first full year and its size and scope and its potential to add significant first mover advantage and value to the industry is huge.

As A Representative Of Your Region – What Are The Major Concerns Of Those Members?

I don’t represent a region. Given that I am elected “at large” I see this as being the vehicle for election rather than a platform around the Board table. I strongly believe that I need to be available to any member (winery or grower) and to have the ability to consider their issue or concern in the context of the wider New Zealand wine industry.

The bottom line is we are all “Winegrowers”.

What Do You Believe Is The Greatest Hurdle Moving Forward For NZ Wine?

Unity. There is huge diversity within the industry in terms of current business models. Some have emerged in recent years as a result of supply/demand issues others are the traditional grower/winery model and the range in size and scale is huge. Such is the dynamic of a growing industry and the challenge for NZW is not to pick winners but rather

ensure that the reputation the industry is built on of premium quality product is understood and adhered to by all players.

What Issue Do You Believe Needs A Higher Priority Than It Is Currently Receiving – And Why?

There is no one issue that requires a higher priority rather a range of issues that are all treated as “priority”. The frustration for NZW like many producer bodies is that many of our issues require action by Government and whilst we may see them as needing to be done yesterday we often lose sight of the fact that they need to be viewed in the context of a whole of Government response. That said we have a strong relationship with Government ministers and officials and the “wins” do come.

However on occasion there will be members whose priorities will be different to ours and that needs to be managed.

What Would You Say Is The Greatest Achievement New Zealand Wine Has Accomplished And Why?

Maintaining the premium positioning of New Zealand wine especially from 08 onwards when this advantage could so easily have been lost. New Zealand Wine

enjoys a reputation for excellence that many other wine producing countries would love to enjoy. This has been achieved with hard work and dedication on the part of our marketing teams around the various markets.

However there is no room for complacency and in my view this will always be the number one challenge for New Zealand wine moving forward.

What Is Your Personal Vision For The Future Of New Zealand Wine? How Do We Get There?

A single organisation where all members have a say in who guides their industry and where all members can feel assured that their issues will be considered impartially.

An industry that sticks diligently to the premise of premium quality wines and encourages all its members to adopt this position.

We get there by being diligent in our marketing, communications both internal and external, persuading all our members that sustainability does include economic sustainability, and that it is the message of the future.

By leading from the front with a lot of hard toil NZW can continue to build on its favourable track record to date. ■

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VINEYARDNEWS

A s New Zealand heads into the last months of sum-mer, many wine growing regions are relying on irri-

gation to ensure the future crops reach their full potential. Espe-cially after what has been some extremely dry months in terms of rainfall.

Being smart about that irriga-tion is vitally important, says Irri-gation New Zealand CEO, Andrew Curtis. All use of water within a vineyard needs to be efficiently delivered and justified.

Curtis knows a thing or two about the requirements and importance of vineyard irrigation, given he was a Hawke’s Bay grape grower for eight years.

“During that time there was quite a difference in the way irrigation was handled,” he says. “What I learned as I became more experienced, was a better control of water. That falls under smart irrigation.”

In recent years, regional bod-ies have been taking a far tighter

stance on the use of water, with regulatory pressures coming to bear on agriculture, horticulture and viticulture. That pressure has been heightened, due to the over allocation of water resources throughout the country, particu-larly in areas such as Hawke’s Bay, Canterbury and Marlborough.

“When you start poking around New Zealand, there are not many regions where there aren’t prob-lems,” Curtis says. “It would be fair to say that we have had a ‘we’ll be okay’ type attitude and we haven’t gone into enough detail at times about how much (water) has been given out and now we’ve some challenges ahead.”

SMART Irrigation has been developed to give irrigators a result of those past practices, and aims to provide a framework to work within that is complimentary to both improved production, through uniformity of application and appropriate application and to ensure abstraction is minimised.

Water users are being encour-

aged to ensure that they have a sys-tem that can perform, Curtis says.

“ Yo u n e e d t o c h e c k i t a n n u a l l y t o s h o w t h a t i t i s a c t u a l l y p e r f o r m i n g . ” By that he means performing a simple calibration of your irrigation system, confirming the correct calibration is utilised, that the pressure is right for each individual block as well as checking the actual amount of water that flows from emmitters in a few blocks – to ensure there are no blockages building up within the drip line.

“The second part is schedul-ing your irrigation correctly. That comes down to being able to jus-tify why you have irrigated, what you have done and confirming that you didn’t just do it because you felt like it or because the neigh-bour did. This is where the meas-uring and monitoring comes in. “Gone are the days when you think, ‘oh no rain for a week, so I’d better put the irrigation on.’ If you are going to be efficient users

of water and get the maximum from your crop, which is crucial for grape growers especially for some reds, you have to manipulate soil water to get the best out of it.”

The third part is having your irrigation system initially designed (or upgraded) so it is consistent with the irrigation codes of prac-tice. These have been developed by industry and irrigators and provide benchmarks of perfor-mance – in terms of both water and energy use.

Irrigation New Zealand now delivers courses on SMART Irri-gation over both management and development. Curtis says the aim is to ensure growers understand the practical, hands on informa-tion that allows them to use their water resource to the best possible effect.

“Where we are pushing people, is to have an operation and main-tenance manual for their site. That should be provided to you by the designer as part of the commission process. Once the system has been

SMART IRRIGATIONT E S S A N I C H O L S O N


commissioned the manual basi-cally tells you the pressure and a certain flow each block should be operating at. Then you can check it annually. If it is operating at that, you know it’s working. If it isn’t, you know you have to find out what is wrong.

“Alongside this, irrigators should keep a scheduling log to include what they have applied and when, as well as any rainfall.”

Curtis says the major prob-lem with drip irrigation, is it can be very hard to tell if it is working efficiently.

“You can see the water is com-ing out okay, but the question is, is it the right amount of water. I have undertaken enough evalua-tions in my life, to know that you can’t do that by eye. You need to do the annual calibration. So if you haven’t got a manual you should draw one up for yourself. Where are the valves, what pressures should they be at – those sorts of things.”

Given times have been tough for many growers since 2009, Curtis says irrigation maintenance may have been something that has been overlooked. But that is a sure-fire way to future issues.

“Water is one of the crucial inputs to your crop, especially now there are quality requirements to grape growing. Maybe you could have got away with it (lack of maintenance) a decade or so ago, but not now. Getting water at the right time and in the right place is crucial, especially in places like Hawke’s Bay and Marlborough where growers are on shallow soils. To me it is silly if times are tough, to ignore it. Too much can go wrong if you don’t maintain it properly.”

Monitoring over a season, is a sure way of ensuring you aren’t over or under-watering. Curtis says the typical scenario they have found is, growers tend to start too late and go on for too long.

“They often get it wrong at fruit set and the veraison period. People tend to hang off and hang off, whereas they probably should have started irrigating earlier. If you monitor, you know.”

For further details on SMART Irrigation, visit http://irriga-tionnz.co.nz/ where resources on irrigation development, cali-bration and scheduling are avail-able. ■[email protected]

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SOCIALMEDIA

C onsumers across the world are no longer in the dark ages when it comes to learning about

wine. Wine-related apps for iPhone and Android devices are becoming increasingly popular, both in New Zealand and abroad, and give access to a marketing outlet previously untapped by wine producers.

Wine apps aren’t just for the young and tech-savvy, either. They’re simple to use, targeted at all ages, and aim to bring both experienced aficionados and those new to wine into the 21st Century.

Aptly named, the NZ Wine App allows consumers to scan the barcode on a bottle of Kiwi wine, and instantly receive its tasting notes. Designed for use in supermarkets and other retail outlets, the app provides details on varietal, food match, a w a r d s t h e w i n e has won, technical winemaker’s notes, and a link to the winery’s website.

Snooth, a similar app, is not specific to New Zealand, but contains many New Zealand wines within its database, and a “location aware” store search for consumers to find out where to buy (though supermarkets and

cellar doors are not included). Apps such as these incorporate

personal information storage and social sharing, both prevalent trends in technology that will continue throughout 2015. Snooth acts as a digital depository for

personal tasting notes, as it allows people to keep track of all the wines they’ve ever tasted. It also stores these notes locally on the user’s phone’s hard drive. This makes them accessible without an

internet connection – such as when a

user is in

a wine cellar. NZ Wine App, on the other

hand, has a social networking element: it allows users to engage and review the wine with ratings out of five for other wine drinkers to see. Public reviews have become an increasingly important tool in consumer purchase decision making (TripAdvisor and others have done the same for the hotel

industry), so these reviews can be valuable for brand-building.

Kiwi wineries have started to launch their own branded wine apps, a sign of taking 21st Century technology into their own hands and not relying on third party apps.

In an effort to bring their winery to the consumer, rather than make the consumer go to the winery, Villa Maria launched its app Virtual Vineyard in July 2014 as a response to consumers around the world interested in the traceability of the its products. Through the app, consumers c a n e x p e r i e n c e t h e provenance of the wines they enjoy by gaining 360-degree views of each of Villa Maria’s sites, p l u s s u p p l e m e n t a r y information about the region and wine origins.

Villa Maria recognised that consumers are often

WHAT ARE WINE APPS ALL ABOUT?L E E S U C K L I N G


too busy to type in a web address or search for an app in the Apple App Store, so in order to make it easier for customers to get the app on their phone, the company has added Quick Response (QR) codes to its bottle labels, which take customers directly to a download link.

The addition of QR codes on bottle labels for direct app access dates back to 2012, when Brancott Estate began placing QR codes on bottle labelling. The goal of the app, called The World’s Most Curious Bottle, was for customers to “interact” with the bottle of wine they had just purchased; creating not just brand awareness but a relationship fuelled by curiosity.

After taking their own photo of a Brancott Estate bottle, app users were offered 14 different “experiences” with the bottle, including an interactive tour of the vineyard, food matching

information, and an interactive guide to Marlborough’s seasonal weather. A user’s smartphone camera worked with the app by recognising when a shot was taken of one of three “triggers” from Brancott Estate’s labelling: either the front label, QR code, or the back label map.

This trend of wine label recognition is something app developers are taking seriously. In 2014, several wine apps were launched with this capability. The app Drync quickly brings up a wine’s availability, price, tasting notes, and ratings after taking a photo of its label. The app Delectable has similar capabilities but also offers the social networking and sharing component found on NZ Wine App. It also incorporates Facebook-like qualities such as tagging; a social networking component that lets users apply digital labels to their friends and locations. These tags

enable them to remember where and with whom they tasted a particular vintage.

Further, the app Vivino boasts wine label recognition that goes beyond a catalogue of labels. If the app can’t automatically recognise a wine bottle’s label through the camera lens, it has a feature to send the image to the Vivino team (it has offices in San Francisco and Copenhagen) who will manually identify it.

Several apps also exist to help convert average wine drinkers i n t o b u d d i n g o e n o p h i l e s . Wine Simplified is more of an interactive book than an app: it features 90-minutes of video tutorials, which cover everything from tasting tips to a varietal pronunciation guide. Likewise, the app Plonk features elegant informational “tiles” about every wine varietal under the sun, including origins, traits, and similar or related varietals a

consumer might want to try. So many features have already

been harnessed in wine-related apps, but innovation is core to app development and new ideas continue to be brought to the market. It’s likely that the next trend in wine apps in “predictive tasting”, something launched in November 2014 in an app called Next Glass.

The app learns the “chemistry” behind the wines a user likes and dislikes (by asking them, upon app setup, to rate the vintages they have tried). It then creates a personal taste profile, and after scanning a new bottle’s label, will give a percentage score correlating to how much it thinks the user will like that wine. Though not (yet) available in New Zealand’s Apple App Store because its catalogue is focussed on US and European wines, Next Glass may well repre-sent the future of wine apps, and should be watched with interest.

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Consumer involvement with mobile technologies shows no sign of abating, and winemakers s h o u l d n ’ t s h y a w a y f r o m incorporating apps into their marketing plan. At the very least, it is integral to ensure your wines feature in the aforementioned catalogues, as these are the key players in the wine app market for 2015. If your products can’t be found, you can usually e-mail the app developer directly via their website, and provide them with your catalogue.

As a start-off point, NZ Wine App invites wineries not featured in its app to e-mail [email protected] to get their barcodes added to the app’s scanning technology. Wineries can also download the app directly, and manually scan in their own barcodes for addition to the catalogue. ■[email protected]

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SCIENCEPROFILE

T he value of research to the growing New Zealand wine industry is forever proving itself. Some of

credit for the exponential growth, making wine the 7th largest earning export, can go to the research staff who work often behind the scenes. One of those, is Plant and Food’s Dr Damian Martin, leader of the New Zealand Grape and Wine Research Programme.

Martin, based at the Marlbor-ough Research Centre, is respon-sible for bringing a number of legacy wine research programmes together, irrespective of who the research funder or provider might be.

It’s a role he is well suited to, having a strong background in sci-ence and wine itself.

Initially qualifying as an indus-trial chemist, Martin moved from a tyre factory position in Christch-

urch to France, where his interest in all things vinous developed. Within 12 months of arriving in the country, he was enrolled in an undergraduate winemaking course. He completed his wine science PhD in Bordeaux, before returning to New Zealand after eight years.

After a vintage in Hawke’s Bay he took up a role as viticultural sci-entist with Hort Research, prior to taking on the role of National Viticulture Manager for Corbans Wines in 1997. It was a time of amalgamation, with Montana buy-ing Corbans and then being bought themselves by Allied Domeqc and finally Pernod Ricard.

Martin was lured away, with the opportunity to establish a new company and vineyard – Ara, in Marlborough. But wine research was always something that held a special attraction because it could

make a difference to the New Zea-land industry as a whole he says.

“I’m interested and curi-ous. In a commercial situa-tion you get so busy, you learn things obviously, but you can’t often satisfy your curiosity.” So when the position as senior sci-entist with Plant and Food came up, he was quick to jump at it. That was back in 2011.

The changes the wine industry experienced in the early 2000s have also morphed out into the world of research. Since he placed his researcher hat back on just over three years ago, Martin has gone from senior scientist, to the leader of all the grape and oenology research being undertaken in New Zealand. Well almost, he explains.

“In the last couple of years we have migrated a number of the legacy programmes (Sauvignon Blanc 1 and 2 and Designer Grape-

vines) into one integrated New Zealand Grape and Wine Research programme. Plant and Food has done that in partnership with NZW, the University of Auckland and Lincoln University as initial stakeholders. But we are keen to bring into the fold as many insti-tutions and universities as possi-ble. It’s really a coordination role, providing some guidance where the programme might head, while also liaising between fundamen-tal science and NZW investment priorities.”

With his in-depth knowledge of the industry from a practical and scientific point of view, Mar-tin believes there are a number of major challenges for the future. The research team in Marlborough is currently focusing on two.

“Protecting New Zealand’s premium position – by that I mean, the things that make New Zealand wine distinctive and high value. We want to understand what they are, what are the seasonal, environmental and management factors that make our wines what they are? How do we hang on to those and how do we amplify their effects so we can manage them bet-ter? This is not something that we can solve in a few years – it is an underlying thread of our work.” The second focus is an area that is being headed by Dr Mike Trought; the efficiency of production sys-tems.

“How can we predict yields and manage them on a seasonal basis? How can we get our input costs and other inputs in line with the production of high quality but

THE SCIENCE OF WINE – DAMIAN MARTINT E S S A N I C H O L S O N


also profitable wines? And there are also strong sustainability and environmental factors to be con-sidered.”

As if that is not enough, there are also other research areas, which include virus and trunk diseases, and the Lifestyle Wines Primary Growth Partnership (PGP) pro-gramme that build up to a multi million-dollar programme.

“Probably overall, if you include the NZW PGP programme and the new NZW/MBIE partnership fund-ing, we are looking at well over $7M annually,” Martin says. “That’s a very big step up from where the industry was 14 years ago, when I started on the research committee (of NZW).”

Some may question the neces-sity for such a large chunk of fund-ing going into researching low alcohol wines, but Martin isn’t one of them.

“It is important research in so

far as it is not just about low alco-hol wines at the end of the day. It’s about understanding how the aroma and flavour components in wine are connected (or not) to sugar accumulation in the grapes. We already know that there are some families of aroma compounds that aren’t linked to sugar accumu-lation, so it opens up the possibility of being able to produce wines with these compounds without having to wait for the fruit to get very sugar ripe. The knowledge from the PGP will inform all the wine categories. So if it’s Otago Pinot Noir or Mer-lot or Syrah in Hawke’s Bay, the benefits of more flavour with less alcohol will flow through the entire industry.”

With a strong research com-mittee that has been hell bent on ensuring the information is passed back to the members, Martin says Simon Hooker and the NZW team have ensured not only government

support, but also industry buy in.“It is gratifying to see that we get

really good industry support and that the industry rates the value of research highly. That’s not to say what we are doing is perfect, we can always improve. But it is nice to see that our value is recognised.”

Even more so, when some of that research goes on to become standard practices that those in the field take for granted.

“The mechanical thinning project is an example of that,” he says. “In two years time it will seem as though we have always had mechanical thinning. Sometimes people forget that research was the catalyst, but at the same time it is very gratifying that the research becomes part of the standard practice – that it has such an impact.”

While Martin can see improve-ments in the way the wine industry operates now, compared to say 20

years ago, there is still a lot to learn he believes. Like many scientists, he acknowledges that the more you learn, the more you realise you still have to learn.

“That is one of the real chal-lenges with the respect of running such a large programme. We are opening doors all over the place, but we don’t have the resources to charge down all these new corridors. So we have to pick and choose. In the future hopefully we will be able to work even more closely with industry about which of these opportunities we pursue. It’s not just about money either; it’s about scientists and people – that is a huge challenge. So that is another benefit of growing this grape and wine programme – - we will be able to bring in and develop more scientists with knowledge of wine production in New Zealand. That will benefit everyone.” ■[email protected]

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ORGANICUPDATE

W ith veraison just around the corner, all growers are concentrating on ensuring their fruit

ripens to its full potential and is disease free.

In terms of achieving that organically, Arnst says there are three major areas to concentrate on.

Disease pressure“Powdery mildew is not such

an issue on the fruit, at this time, as it doesn’t tend to be active on soft skin. But you still need to pay attention to the top of the canopy. In the past we tend to have taken our eye off the ball regarding powdery, and there can be late season disease up top. So sulphur applications are useful

for protection, but you need to speak to your winery in case they are concerned about late season sulphur usage, after veraison. For infection, HML32 is proven to stop the spread.

“But the main focus at this stage in the season is botrytis. You need to make sure there are no potential issues building up. Hopefully before this stage you have cleared the trash away from the bunches after flowering. That can be achieved by air blowing systems. And Botryzen consumes dead material, so that is useful if you have flower parts or trash remaining in the bunch, which is the source for botrytis later on.

“In most cases botrytis begins on the inside and then moves out through the bunches. So long as

you have got rid of that trash, once the berries start to close up you will have very little left within the bunch that can cause problems.

“You have to remember that no matter what spray you have at your disposal, you are never going to penetrate completely inside a bunch.

“Pre veraison and pre bunch closure there are some other products that organic growers can use that will penetrate within the bunch before it tightens up. Higher water rates can be used if there is an issue around this time, to ensure the moisture content of the spray penetrates into the bunch around the berries. We are talking about 400 litres per hectare of spray water rate.

“It is also important to make

sure you have a decent airflow around the bunches. You don’t want too dense a canopy. It doesn’t matter what spray you have, if you have leaf on leaf pre bunch closure, then the bunch won’t get hit. And given we are not using anything systemic with organics, contact is the most important aspect.

GETTING THROUGH VERAISON ORGANICALLY In the first of what will become a regular feature in NZ Winegrower, Tessa Nicholson talks to Organic Viticultural Consultant Bart Arnst on how to manage your vines, as we head towards harvest.

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Nutrition“I like to still maintain

nutrition, canopy nutrition, at this period of the season. I am a fan of seaweed as a supplement, but there are also a couple of good organic sprays which have good levels of magnesium and potassium in them. On a dry year like we have had so far, there is a good chance we will start to see potassium deficiency, especially on clay soils, post veraison. So it is important to keep an eye on the nutrient levels. The condition of your leafs and petioles now will start to give you an indication on how things are going to go later on.

“But if you don’t get rainfall, things like nitrogen and potassium are only going to be available to the vines through the ground in the wet areas. They move in moisture, and can’t get extracted when the soil is dry. Your irrigation drip line is the only area that is going to release that nutrition, so therefore gets mined quite easily. That’s where canopy nutrient sprays can come in to relieve the deficit. And there are very few organic products that can’t be used right up until the day of harvest.

“The other thing to remember is that the vines require the opportunity to build up their nutrient base, for the coming w i n t e r m o n t h s . Yo u a r e withdrawing from the bank (via fruit ripening), so you want to be

depositing into the bank so you have something to withdraw in the following season.”

WaterGiven the dry season so far, and

the likelihood of more dry weather leading into harvest (fingers crossed) irrigation is a vital component in fruit development. But as Arnst says, you need to be careful you don’t overdo it.

“You need to take a good look at the canopy as near veraison you don’t want really strong growing tips. We don’t want them terminating, instead we want them to flow down as from this point on we are trying to encourage ripening, not vegetative growth. That can be manipulated with irrigation. Remember you increase your chances of botrytis by having a dense canopy and also decrease

the chance of fruit ripening.“The denser the canopy, the

slower the ripening and that subjects you to more risk later in the season. As we saw last year, the heavier crop loads and thicker canopies delays fruit ripening – opening you up to weather events later in the season.”Next issue, Bart will discuss the organic way to prepare the vines for winter. ■

Removing trash early and opening up the canopy can help prevent botrytis.


YOUNGGUNS

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Soil Health, Plant Health, OUR HealthRoots, Shoots & Fruits

YOUNG GUNS OF WAIPARAHow Long Have You Worked In Waipara?

Since 2012.

What Brought You To Waipara?

We really wanted to be in Can-terbury, my wife and I both have a lot of family and friends here. My early experience in the wine industry while at Lincoln gave me the opportunity to get a really good feel for the region and it’s potential.

Where Have You Travelled In Wine To Get Here?

I spent a few years working in restaurants after discovering a passion for wine once I left school. I did some study and used that to travel and work as a sommelier in New Zealand, Aus-tralia and the UK. We returned from the UK in 2005 and I started the V&O degree at Lincoln. I did vintages with Danny Schuster and Waipara Springs during this time before my wife finished her second degree and was sent to Auckland, where I worked at Villa Maria from 2008-2009. In 2010 I went to the Mornington Peninsula to work at Stonier Wines one of the oldest winer-ies in the area. They only make Chardonnay and Pinot Noir which was a huge draw card for me. Then it was straight to Mar-lborough to ride the savalanche that was Wither Hills before moving back to Christchurch. I took a position at The George Hotel as Assistant Food and Beverage Manager for a couple of years until I found ‘the right’ position which ended up being at Muddy Water/Greystone. It was well worth the wait!

What Do You Enjoy Most About Your Job?

The people. The entire team is so dedicated to what we are doing, we have a great range of experience and personalities that make up the team. I have learnt so much from all of them. The experience has been by far the best I have worked in yet. I certainly feel very lucky.

What Do You Enjoy Most About Waipara?

Waipara is the most exciting region in the country by far at the moment in my opinion. I have always believed that some of the best wines in New Zealand come from Waipara and North

Canterbury especially the Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Rieslings which are outstanding. We are a small region but we punch well above our weight domestically and internationally.

When You’re Not Making Wine Or Growing Grapes?

I am outdoors with my ever present chocolate Labrador Hendrix, drinking wine (often while cooking), tending my vege garden, snapping photos or thinking about what I’ll drink tomorrow.

It Sucks When….

Your wife is due to have a baby in the middle of harvest (who needs any sleep at all eh)

Your Favourite Wine?

I have been lucky to have a lot of great wines over the years but a recent standout was Michel Mallards’ Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru.

Which Wine Region Excites You Most Right Now?

Waipara of course, but espe-cially the limestone sites on the hillsides

Future Aspirations?

I want to get New Zealanders drinking a wider variety of wine. As a country we are too safe with our wine choices. We have such a broad and diverse range of climates and varieties that are underappreciated for what is generally exceptionally good quality and great value. ■

B R A D N O L A NA G E : 3 2W I N E M A K E R , M U D DY WAT E R .


How Long Have You Worked In Waipara?

13 months


Staying close to my roots and investigating what it has to offer.

Where Have You Travelled In Wine To Get Here?

It all started after seeing a flyer about viticulture and oenology at a Lincoln University open day. So I did my first vintage in Marlborough straight after high school which gave me a good introduction to the industry, and loved it. After that I studied Viticulture and Oenology at Lincoln University, and a couple more vintages in Marlborough, a little bit of travel in France and Napa Valley. Then thought it was time to see how the vineyard side of things work. To give me a good feel for the industry as a whole.


Watching good management techniques develop and improve grape production, watching the vines change from season to season, every day brings new challenges and working outdoors with an awesome team.


Great wineries, people and produce. There is always something happening in Waipara.


Holidaying and eating freshly caught blue cod with the family at the bach in Kahikatea, Marlborough Sounds.

It Sucks When….

The weather doesn’t do what you would like it to do. Mainly frost events or rain during harvest.


Waipara Hills Equinox Home Block Chardonnay which is pretty hard to get your hands on at present.


Waipara would have to be the one at present due to the ever increasing overseas interest in the region’s wines. However Central Otago never ceases to amaze me for the quality of Pinot Noir they produce.

Future Aspirations?

Owning my own vineyard and winery. ■

S A M P E A R C EA G E 2 5V I N E YA R D H A N D / T R A C T O R O P E R AT O R AT WA I PA R A H I L L S


How Long Have You Worked In Waipara?

I’ve been in Waipara, North Canterbury since February 2013, so two years now


The opportunity to work with Mat Donaldson, he’s a legend! It’s been and continues to be an amazing learning experience and a ton of fun. We have a wide range of grape varieties in our portfolio but particularly having the chance to work more with Riesling as we have five different styles within our range.

Where Have You Travelled In

Wine To Get Here?

I lived in Hawke’s Bay for my first couple of vintage experiences, then Martinborough which was my home for eight years. Seven of those vintages were at Ata Rangi where I was assistant winemaker for Helen Masters. I’ve worked in France three times (Burdundy twice, Champagne once), California, Oregon, and South Africa. One of the highlights of being a winemaker is working with international people who are just as excited as you about wine and food and enjoy having a good time. Then when you met up again on the other side of the

world you have an amazing time all over again. Lots of fantastic memories!


Apart from the above mentioned I love that every season is different and provides a new set of weather conditions and decisions that need to be made that will ultimately have an affect on the wine you end up bottling. Always learning. Working with motivated people, fabulous wines and delicious food.


There is a lot of diversity in North Canterbury in terms of produce. I love hunting, diving and foraging for food and here in Waipara we have a fantastic selection. We are smack bang in-between the coast and the mountains with the rivers flowing in the middle of it all. Kaikoura, Hamner Springs, Lake Sumner all at our doorstep. Christchurch is really handy for everything else you might need (a city break? Or the airport!) Most of all there is a terrific group of people in the community who are pumped with positive energy and making some tasty vino. They dig the same things I do with regard to local produce, homemade, home grown!


Preserving, hunting, growing veges, heading away for a long weekend to see friends and family scattered around the country… a lot of partying of late with the festive season and all… people keep talking of AFD’s (alcohol free days) so maybe its time for a rest pre the coming vintage?! I’m helping organise the first North Canterbury local wild food challenge www.localwildfoodchallenge.com Its going to be epic! But a lot of work

to do in the coming couple of months!

It Sucks When….

That bottle you’ve been waiting for the right moment to open is corked. Also when you put too much fish sauce in your satay or anything for that matter. (Last night after a rather large party weekend I was thinking about satay the entire trip home, stuffed it up rather badly.. disappointment!)


Mmmmm that’s a tough one. Depends on so many factors (time of day, food, mood, company.) We had a Domaine Ramonet 2004 Montrachet on the weekend and that was mind blowingly epic! But so was the 1995 Tignanello…. If I’m on my death bed a Mugnier Musginy or a Rousseau Chambertin Clos de Beze with some Epoisse will do. (But so would a great Kiwi drop like Neudorf Moutere Chardonnay with pan fried scallops or Quartz Reef Methode and crayfish with aioli and a squeeze of lemon.


I really want to get back to Piedmont, I spent 10 days there in 2012 with a friend and I just loved it!! Food and wine heaven.

Future Aspirations?Long term; The next step for me would be a winemaking role for a smaller estate. Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Riesling. Making some wine for myself.

Owning some land and being as self sufficient as possible on it.Getting back to Europe for an epic road trip as part of my study plan for the WSET Diploma.

Short term; survive another harvest at Pegasus Bay. Get out hunting more this year (venison supply seriously low in freezer!) Fit some study in for my WSET level 3 exam in February. ■

J A N N I N E R I C K A R D SA G E : 3 3W I N E M A K E R , P E G A S U S B AY W I N E R Y

Young Guns – brought to you by Roots, Shoots & Fruits


WINENEWS

P lanning the launch of her own range of wines, Hayley Young was keen to reflect women’s success and their contribution to society in the brand.

So she developed strong characters, fictional, but based on women she knows, to represent each of the first four wine styles in her Young Estate range.

Personifying methode traditionelle, Bettie Bubbles is a fashion designer. Aviator Penny Noir lends her name to the Pinot Noir. Ruby Rosé is an events manager while Savannah Blanc, the character Hayley feels is most like herself, travels to remote locations in her role as a geologist.

“I looked at the way women are represented in the media,” Young says, “and felt a lot of the time they were objectified. These women are allowed to be feminine but they are empowered images of women.”

The wines are sold online. Ultimately, the plan is to feature 10 characters on the labels and to perhaps bring them to life with a YouTube film series.

Young believes the message is important but says the brand is also “about having fun – it’s a wine company specialising in good quality wines with feminine spirit, class and gumption!”

Born and bred in Invercargill, the 30-year-old aspires to those qualities herself. After gaining a Bachelor of Engineering (Hons), she worked as a chemical and process engineer in Tasmania and then as a marine engineer.

In 2013, an interest in developing a career centred on wine led to her move to Hawke’s Bay to study EIT’s Graduate Diploma in Oenology. There she gained hands-on experience working successive vintages at C J Pask and Trinity Hill.

Studying part-time and online allowed her to develop a number of strands in her wine-related career. She works with winery clients New Zealand-wide for a health and safety consultancy and more recently signed up with WorleyParsons – a company that designs, builds and maintains industrial plants – working on a contract basis on projects that include winery builds.

She has also established a wine club. Clients sign up with a group of friends to receive three bottles of wine each month. The aim of the business is to develop their taste and understanding of wine by focusing on different styles and regions.

“I feel I’ve found my life’s purpose,” Young says of all these ventures. And although she needs to travel a lot with her various jobs, she doesn’t intend to leave the “paradise” she has found in Hawke’s Bay.

“It’s got the best climate, there’s so much to do, it’s beautiful, the food and wine is amazing, it’s a nice size and there are no traffic jams,” she adds with a laugh. ■[email protected]

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MARKETINGNEWS

B eing on the ground in New Zealand has totally changed a British wine consultant’s impression

of our wines.Roger Jones is renowned in

the UK for a long list of reasons. He has held a Michelin Star for the last eight years, is the owner of The Harrow at Little Bedwyn, is the Wine Consultant for the on-trade magazine The Caterer, sits on the Decanter World Wine Awards specialising in Australia and New Zealand, sits on the Som-melier Wine Awards among oth-ers and contributes to numerous publications.

At the age of 21 he held the posi-tion as youngest Head Chef to lead State banquets at The Guildhall in London and has catered for the Queen, various Heads of State and has also worked at 10 Down-ing Street and Royal Households.

At his own restaurant, he has one of the largest new world wine lists in the UK, which includes 100 from New Zealand.

Yet despite all those creden-tials, Jones has never visited New Zealand, until November last year. What he discovered left him want-ing more.

“For someone like myself I get to lots of other countries, but this is my first time here,” he said. “To see this face to face is amazing. I know it is easy to say that this is a trip of a lifetime, but for me it really is. It’s quite emotional in a sense, because it is so exciting to see something completely new to me.”

While in Marlborough Jones was astounded by the “village” like atmosphere of the region – some-thing he was not expecting.

“I thought Marlborough was going to be quite industrial, like the Barossa Valley, with massive

oil refinery style tank farms. But I was surprised; it is very boutique and that is not a word I would have used about Marlborough before. It has much more of a village sort of aspect.”

But it was the sunshine he experienced while in the country, (despite some bitterly cold days

that saw frosts hit parts of the country) that provided him with the most important lesson.

“I think everywhere in New Zealand there is this sunshine, continuous hot penetrating sun. I realised that is why the flavours we are getting from the wines are so bright, so intense, so clean and (it explains) the freshness we are seeing.”

Actually seeing the country for himself, talking to the winemak-ers in their own environment, has been incredibly valuable to him. He says it will impact on the decisions

he makes in the future about what wines he will recommend.

“When you are tasting in situ it is obviously going to taste better, but now it is my job to take it back to the UK and tell the story and get that story over to people. We need to be advocates of this land. It is quite spectacular and the reflec-

tion of that is coming through in your wines.”

In his role as a consultant, Jones is responsible for food and wine matching, and says once he has the list together, he advises staff on how to sell those wines, encouraging them to move away from the norm.

“Chardonnay for example is great with Indian food, whereas people would normally say that Riesling and Gewurztraminer are the best match.

“We try and push a lot more reds with seafood, otherwise sales

of reds won’t happen. Men more often than not will want a bottle of red, and go into a restaurant and have a steak, because they think that goes best with a red. We say, no, you can have a red with sea-food, no problem at all.”

That sort of thinking outside the square has worked well for Jones, and is one of his attrac-tions to other restaurants wanting to make their mark in the highly competitive food and wine sector.

While in New Zealand he vis-ited all the major wine growing regions, and was busy on social media, praising the wines, food and people he met. Back in the UK he is providing The Caterer magazine with articles on his trip and has been asked to pitch some ideas on New Zealand to Decanter.

H i s e x t r e m e l y p o s i t i v e response to this part of the world is sure to be carried over in those articles. Which just goes to show how important it is to have key influencers on the ground here in New Zealand, where they can see for themselves the true beauty of our wine.■[email protected]

WINE GURU IMPRESSEDT E S S A N I C H O L S O N

Roger Jones

“We need to be advocates of this land. It is quite spectacular and the reflection of that is coming through in your wines.”

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HML 32: armour plate for grapes

HML 32 + additives is your best weapon to clean out powdery mildew after harvest, and due to its mode of action there is no chance that powdery mildew can become resistant to it.

Mopping up residual disease will achieve two things:

• It will provide vines the best possible start as they begin to regenerate nutritional reserves in readiness for next season.

• Eradication of powdery mildew mycelium will limit the production of Chasmothecia (powdery mildew’s over-wintering fruiting body), lowering disease inoculum levels for the beginning of next season. Chasmothecia, once formed, are almost impossible to kill with a pesticide.

Caution: Do not use HML 32 + additives when vines are under water stress.

*www.henrymanufacturing.co.nz/latestnews/farmlandspresentation

AFTER HARVEST: Eradicate Powdery Mildew in the Canopy

Chasmothecia (Norbert Nagel / Wikimedia Commons. License: CC BY-SA 3.0)


COUNTERFEITNEWS

I n the first part of this series, (NZ Winegrower Issue 89) we looked at the importance of having a brand strategy

when marketing and selling your wine in China. In this issue, we explore counterfeit wine in China and what measures are being taken to combat this problem.

Wine producers invest signifi-cant time and money in their wine

brands – from the name of the wine to the artwork on the label. This branding builds customer loyalty and goodwill in your busi-ness. But the sale of counterfeit wine can significantly undermine this hard work.

Is counterfeit wine really that much of a problem in China?

China is now the fifth largest wine consuming country in the world. At first, Chinese consumers were seen as easy targets for counterfeiters because they were new to wine and had the money to spend big. Bad fakes were rife with empty bottles filled with below par wine (or even flavoured water) and a fabricated label stuck on the bottle.

H o w e v e r, w i t h C h i n e s e consumers becoming more knowledgeable about wine, a whole new level of sophistication in the production and marketing of counterfeits is emerging.

While it is difficult to estimate the scale of the problem, some reports suggest between 50% and 70% of wines sold in China today are fake.

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Ever heard of PANFAIDS?

E u r o p e a n w i n e s a r e particularly popular in China and counterfeiters have tended to focus on French wine. There are stories of there being more cases of 1982 LAFITE in China than were actually produced by the vineyard. Fake LAFITE isn’t the only concern. Other labels have emerged on the market including CHATELET LAFITE – a play on the LAFITE trade mark.

But the problem is not exclusive to European wine producers. In 2011, Penfolds found wine being sold by the name PANFAIDS in the Guangzhou district. The getup and labelling were the same as PENFOLDS right down to the stylisation of the words and use of the colour red. Winemaker Max Schubert was even referred to on the label. Consumers who did not pay close

attention to the bottle would easily have believed they were purchasing a PENFOLDS wine.

Fighting backThe good news is that the

Chinese government and wine industry are starting to fight back. This year the Chinese government launched an initiative called Protected Eco-Origin Product (PEOP). The government works with wine producers who have joined the PEOP scheme to authenticate wine with a PEOP label. The labels feature visible and invisible codes including a QR code which consumers can check with their smart phones. Importantly, it gives consumers a guarantee from the government of authenticity and traceability.

International wine producers have also taken it upon themselves to tackle the problem head on with tamper-proof caps, bottle buyback

programs, tagging of bottles, and barcode marking systems.

Other initiatives include an app developed by former Australian basketballer Andrew Vlahov. The app is used to scan a wine label to determine its authenticity. BevScan is another new device. It was developed by the Australian Wine Research Institute and uses a beam of light which passes through the bottle without the need to open the bottle. The light test is used to analyse a genuine bottle of wine against an unknown bottle of wine.

What can New Zealand wine producers do?

If these measures seem expensive, or if you even question how effective they may be in keeping up with counterfeiting trends, there are still other simple and proven actions you can take.

Firstly, continue to build your

brand protection and awareness in China. If Chinese consumers can easily recognise your trade marks and features on your label, they are less likely to be duped.

Secondly, monitor the Chinese wine market, particularly online. Sales of counterfeit wines online are increasing sharply and websites like Ebay and Taobao should be regularly checked.

If you see a wine being offered for sale which is of concern contact your IP advisor and they will be able to guide you as to what can be done against a specific counterfeiter.

Bottom lineIf you are exporting wine

to China or plan to do so in the future, it is important to be aware of the issue of counterfeit wine and what measures there are to fight the fakes. ■[email protected]

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WINEMAKERNEWS

A n international winemak-ing competition in China has been won by a Marl-borough man, with a sec-

ond Marlborough winemaker also taking one of the top three places.

The Ningxia Wine Challenge began back in 2012 – and was seen as a way of promoting China’s fast-est growing wine region. Win-emakers from around the world were invited to apply to take part in the competition, which would see them responsible for making one red wine in 2012, followed by a white wine in 2013.

Both wines would then be judged by a panel in 2014, with three top placings in each category announced.

Of the seven winemakers, two

came from New Zealand, David Tyney and Patricia Miranda-Tay-lor, both based in Marlborough.

Tyney says the competition, due to its novelty, initially gar-nered strong media publicity around the world, which was exactly what the regional gov-ernment had wanted. But the drawn out aspect which has seen him make seven trips to Ningxia, meant many of the initial competi-tors pulled out before the white wine was produced in 2013.

“At the beginning there was a lot of hype, a lot of media atten-tion and everyone was involved. But after two years, it began to lose impetus. Three of us were com-mitted to it, a French winemaker, a Spanish one and myself.”

The red wine made in 2012, was a Cabernet Sauvignon, blended with Cabernet Gernischt. All the fruit came from one vineyard and the seven winemakers had to make the decision when and how to pick the fruit. They were then respon-sible for taking that fruit back to the brand new winery, built spe-cifically for the competitors, and turning it into wine.

In Tyney’s case, he admits he was pretty sceptical about the quality that came in. So he decided to take a very low risk approach to the winemaking side.

“Basically I pressed directly to barrel and I didn’t touch those barrels for 18 months. While I was sceptical about the fruit, as the wines aged, and they definitely

need to age, they really developed some nice richness and complex-ity.”

He says it was the same with the white wine, which was a Char-donnay made in 2013.

“I also full bunch pressed straight to barrel and because it had seeds and grapes floating in it, everyone in the winery and the experts who came in to taste would call me up saying there was something wrong, as there were seeds and grapes floating in the barrels. I just told them to leave them, not to touch anything. That was something completely differ-ent to them. But I guess the proof is in the pudding, as they say.”

In September the contestants were invited back for the judg-ing, of seven red wines and three white. Held in Beijing, a panel of six judges, including other inter-national winemakers, somme-liers and wine professors, tasted the finished wines. The winners were announced straight away with Tyney taking out first place with both the red and the white. Miranda-Taylor was placed third in the red wine section – a major feather in the cap for the Marlbor-ough winemakers.

However it is unlikely that many will ever get to try for them-selves the end product of the com-petition Tyney says. All the wines have been labelled with photos of the relevant winemaker and are being held in a specially built wine

WINEMAKER TAKES OUT CHINESE TITLEST E S S A N I C H O L S O N

The two New Zealand winemakers sorting fruit back in 2012. David Tyney is second from the left, and Patricia Miranda-Taylor second from right.


museum in the Ningxia region.As for the future, the compe-

tition has certainly highlighted Ningxia, Tyney says.

“When I first went there, just under three years ago, the aim was to have 60,000 hectares of planted vines within five years. That’s still the goal.

“At the moment there are 58

wineries and they want another 100 approved winemak-ing facilities. A good percentage of those are going to be from outside investment and international w i n e c o m p a n i e s wanting to invest in China. In the past few years there have been some pretty big names become involved, companies from Napa, South

America and Europe. Already LVMH and Pernod Ricard are present in Ningxia. And there are 30,000 hectares already planted. But the total annual crush is only 15,000 tonne – which is due to the young vines not being on stream and the older plantings not having had a very good strike rate. So they still have a long way to go.”

Ningxia is one of China’s six major wine producing regions and has already gained a reputa-tion for consistently high quality red wines. However Tyney says the viticultural knowledge along with sales and marketing of a brand are

still lacking in expertise. Tyney will continue to be a

frequent visitor to China, where he has become a winemaking con-sultant and is also marketing his own Marlborough wine Cirro. ■[email protected]

The winery built specifically for the international winemakers taking part in the Ningxia Wine Challenge.

The finished wine.


SOMMELIER’S CORNER CAMERON DOUGLAS MS

F ine-tuning a wine list is one of the key ongoing duties of the Somme-lier - keeping the wine

programme from going stale. Sorting through what’s new, what’s hot and what should be on great wine lists, including for the rest of Summer 2015 and into the Autumn, should include due consideration of emerg-ing varieties and styles of wine. Grüner Veltliner, Pinot Blanc and even Osteiner are making an impact outside New Zealand - a few savvy local vignerons have noticed this and are taking advantage of these grapes’ affin-ity with the local climate and soils.

GV or Grüner Veltliner’s first home (Austria) has most plantings in the regions of Lower Austria and Burgenland. It is also found in Hungary, Slovenia and the Czech Replublic. Each of these places has their own name for the variety (usually ending in “…veltliner”), and the true origins of the grape remain

somewhat of a mystery. The genetic parentage of Grüner has (so far) identified Traminer crossed with St. Georgener-Rebe as the most likely.

GV has some interesting, varied aromatic and flavour attributes including citrus, green bean, radish, lentil, white pepper and watercress. It’s usually dry and high in acidity which means it can be a great alternative to Riesling and Sauvignon Blanc. Grüner is rarely, if ever, matured in oak – it doesn’t respond well. Foods that are light, crisp and ‘zippy’ in flavour tend to work well for pairings. One of the notable attributes of great Grüner is the chalk-like mineral texture which is a fine comple-ment for sashimi, oysters and most shell fish. All of these quali-ties may be found in some good quality New Zealand examples, although the mineral character can be a little hard to detect.

Food and wine pairings need not be difficult - use similar rules to Sauvignon Blanc, but tone

down herbs and spices if they are a feature in the food. Menu items such as goats’ cheese, rocket and pear salad, oysters and delicate Asian cui-sines are great offerings with Grüner.

Locally, some of our more adventurous wine makers are testing the use of traditional label terms to describe the sweetness level in Riesling: Kabinett is a drier expression than, say, Auslese. These terms do make sense when you consider the range of sweetness levels available with Riesling and the back label scale only works if you bother to look.

Don’t be surprised if you start to see a few Grüner

label terms appearing such as those associated

with some Austrian wines:

Steinfeder is the least sweet

(similar to Kabinett), Federspiel

next (similar to Spatlese), and Smaragd has more residual sugar again (similar to Auslese). Steinfeder (a local grass found in the vineyards) is the lightest style, with a maximum alcohol of 11.5%; Federspiel has a final alcohol range of 11.5%-12.5%; and Smaragd has a minimum alcohol of 12.5%. ■

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REGIONSWAIPARA

F oraging – a word that con-jures up wandering around with large baskets, collect-ing an array of products

straight from the land with the aim of creating a later meal.

Which is exactly what a group of North Canterbury wineries have planned. Except they won’t be foraging on their own. Instead they are using the age-old method of harvesting to promote not just

the myriad of food produced in the region, but also promoting the wines that match them so perfectly.

Organiser Angela Clifford says the Forage North Canterbury event will see a group of interna-tional wine and trade media and some of New Zealand’s best chefs, combine to create the perfect, in-balance meal.

“Our small region includes

everything from station country, to hills, rivers and lakes, to the sea shore and ocean. Our wines reflect the whole of this landscape so it makes sense to take people beyond the vineyards, just like it makes sense to consider our wines alongside our food.”

Seven vineyards (Bellbird Spring, Black Estate, Greystone, Mountford Estate, Muddy Water Pegasus Bay and Tongue in Groove) are involved in the novel event, along with top chefs, includ-ing Michael Meredith from Mere-diths, Tom Hishon from Orphan’s Kitchen, Jonny Schwass, Giulio Sturla from Roots and Alex Davies from Shop 8.

The international trade and media will be split into groups, each assigned a chef and a vine-yard representative, and will be sent out to collect different food items. They will then be taken back to Black Estate, where the chefs will collaborate to produce a meal extraordinaire.

While they are doing that, Clif-ford says the wine media will be tasked with creating a wine list to match the evening meal.

“There will be a wine tasting

which creates a conversation about the food they have col-lected.” she says. “This will be used to consider the wines for the even-ing meal.”

The idea of the novel mar-keting campaign came from the vineyards themselves, all of which already are quite at home with for-aging Clifford says.

“We all have a significant involvement with food, beyond our grape vines. We are food growers, farmers, fishermen, hunters and foragers. The headquarters of Tongue in Groove for instance (where Clifford works) is The Food Farm. We milk our own cow, grow all of our own meat, fruit and vegetables. For us it goes hand in hand with growing wine.”

It is a unique way to showcase what is one of New Zealand’s most interesting wine regions – ensur-ing it stands out from the crowd.

Following the media event, a Forage Dinner, open to the pub-lic will be held in Christchurch on February 3. Follow the #For-age #NorthCanterbury event on social media. ■[email protected]

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BOB’S BLOG BOB CAMPBELL MW

“In my view New Zealand makes the world’s second best Gewurztraminer” I boasted to a large audience of wine knowledgeable people. “New Zealand also has the world’s second largest vineyard area of Gewurztraminer,” responded a well-known winemaker. I didn’t argue but reached for my copy of Wine Grapes by Jancis Robinson, Julia Harding and José Vouillamoz when I returned home. According to this weighty and indispensable guide New Zealand ranks twelfth in terms of Gewurztraminer production. Here are the top twelve producers by size based on 2009

figures (give or take a year):France 3, 083 haMoldova 2,731 haUkraine 2,375 haUSA 1,098 haAustralia 840 haGermany 835 haHungary 720 haCzech Republic 600 haItaly 560 haRomania 539 haSlovakia 363 haNZ (2008) 316 haIn hindsight it was rather arrogant of me to claim that New Zealand Gewurztraminer is second best (after the wines of Alsace) given my limited experience of wines from

Moldova, Ukraine, the Czech Republic and Romania. However after tasting over 50 examples of New Zealand Gewurztraminer I still think that we make bloody good Gewurztraminer, certainly better than any of the Australian examples I’ve tasted. I always ask students at my wine classes to raise their hands if they like Gewurztraminer. The variety has few supporters but many converts once they’ve tasted it and after I have enthused about its ability to

match many

Asian-inspired

dishes. Some object to

the level of sweetness in many wines (only 10% of the Gewurztraminers I tasted were truly dry with around three-quarters falling into the “off/dry to medium/dry” category) but a touch of residual sugar is often needed to mask phenolic bitterness in many wines. New Zealand certainly makes the world’s best New Zealand Gewurztraminer. ■

GEWURZTRAMINER

WHICH SIDE OF THE BORDER?During my “OE” in the late seventies I camped near the French town of Colmar in Alsace near the German border. It was a convenient base from which to tour the vineyards of Alsace and those of the Kaiserstuhl Area in southern Germany. During a tasting at a German winery I asked the winemaker what he thought of Alsace wines. He replied “Ach, zey have no control over zer vinemaking”. The same day I asked an Alsace winemaker what he thought of German wines. “Their wines are made in chemists shops” was the slightly caustic response. That just about sums up the philosophical difference between Alsace and German Riesling.I related that story to a group of Martinborough winemakers shortly before presenting a tasting of German

Mosel and French Alsace Rieslings at an event sponsored by O-I NZ. New Zealand winemakers have by-and-large adopted the German model with minimal skin contact, reductive handling and by retaining at least a modicum of residual sugar to produce wines of delicacy, purity and tension. There are some notable local exceptions that follow a more Alsace approach. Pegasus Bay is an obvious example. It was an impressive tasting although I doubt it encouraged a single winemaker to change direction. To Mosel style fans the tasting clearly indicated the superiority of protective winemaking while to those that preferred the French approach it endorsed their faith in the richer and often more complex from Alsace. Vive la difference. ■

SABRAGE Knocking the top off a champagne bottle with a sabre looks tricky but is actually fairly simple. Take the foil off the bubbly so you get a good view of the bottle lip that holds the wire. Now look for the seam on the bottle – they all have one. Turn the seam upright and hit the neck with sword at a shallow angle where the seam meets the ridge of glass around the neck (the weakest point on the bottle). The top of the bottle should fly off with speed – take care that it doesn’t hit anyone, a chunk of jagged glass wrapped in wire is a nasty projectile. If you are not sure how to do it, search for “sabrage” on YouTube, there are plenty of demonstration videos. You can practice using the blunt side of a carving knife. ■


CHOCOLATE AND WINETo raise money for Devonport’s community garden I agreed to run a chocolate and wine tasting. Devonport Chocolates provided a range of goodies, including an experimental Samoan chocolate they’re developing while Glengarry generously donated matching wines. At my suggestion we matched the uber-sweet white chocolate with an Italian Asti Spumante and a botrytised Riesling. I had previously experienced a brilliant match between white chocolate and an Italian Moscato d’Asti but we substituted it for a slightly less sweet Asti Spumante which was voted as a moderately disappointing match. The botrytised Riesling was far more successful. With the milk chocolate I chose a Pedro Ximenes sherry (enormously successful because few had experienced this intensely concentrated, almost magical wine), an Australian Liqueur Muscat (also very successful) and a 1985 Cockburns vintage port from my cellar that also received a popular vote although that may have been partly due to the spectacle of my removing the bottle neck with red-hot port tongs. The bitter/sweet characters of dark chocolate have been described as “an enemy to wine” but that simply isn’t true. Dark chocolate has the power to convert an excessively tannic red into a deliciously creamy and decadently smooth-textured experience. Don’t take my word for it, try it yourself. ■

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REGIONSMARLBOROUGH

H ans and Therese Herzog are no strangers within the wine industry. Hans’ family have been wine

makers since 1630, while he him-self has over 40 years experience.

The Swiss couple who arrived in New Zealand on a visit back in 1981 already owned a vineyard in the Zurich wine country. But Hans was keen to expand outside Swit-zerland, and find a place where

he could concentrate on the Bor-deaux blends he had a passion for making.

The visit to New Zealand got him thinking, although Marlbor-ough at that stage had only just

begun to develop vineyards and its reputation as a world renowned producer of Sauvignon Blanc was still years away.

Therese says they began seri-ously contemplating differing

EXTREME DIVERSITYT E S S A N I C H O L S O N

With 23,000 hectares of productive vineyard in Marlborough, it is not surprising that New Zealand’s largest wine region should have a plethora of grape varieties. More than 33 in total, from Albarino to Viognier. But as Tessa Nicholson discovered, one tiny estate, has a total of 29 of those varieties growing in just 11.5 hectares.

Hans and Therese Herzog.


regions in the mid 80s. Europe was their first point of call, although it was quickly ruled out by both of them.

“In Europe the continental cli-mate means every vintage is differ-ent, you can get maybe two good vintages out of every 10,” she says. “We looked at the Napa, but our pockets weren’t big enough. We looked at Australia, but the climate wasn’t good enough. Then we came to Marlborough and, Hans said, this would be a fantastic place to grow grapes.”

He even identified a small parcel of land in Rapaura that bor-dered the Wairau River, and had been an apricot, apple and peach orchard since 1921. It was obvious to Hans that this block was perfect for grapes.

“The farmers all told us this was the hottest spot in the whole valley and was the oldest or one of the oldest orchards in Mar-lborough,” Therese says. “It is protected from the river, and is about one to two degrees warmer than neighbouring vineyards.” Hans goes on to note that while neighbouring vineyards require frost protection in the form of helicopters in tough years, his little slice of paradise remains protected by the natural sur-roundings.

The soil is sandy gravel, with pockets of clay in certain places and free draining. With the tem-perature being slightly higher than other parts of Marlborough, it was

perfect for his long-term plan of growing late ripening varieties, the sort that he wouldn’t have been able to contemplate at home in Switzerland.

It wasn’t a fait accompli though as the Herzog’s already had a vine-yard in Switzerland and Therese was running a Michelin Star restaurant on their estate. Hans admits it took more than a decade before he convinced Therese that instead of travelling between Swit-zerland and New Zealand every six months, they should concentrate

on New Zealand only. “It was the end of 1999 when

we came here for good,” says Ther-ese. “We thought, the new millen-nium – that is a good time for a life change.”

Therese says they never intended the small vineyard to be commercially based.

“It was not about a return on investment, but a passion to find out what is possible in the new world. How much better is the new world than the old world?

“So Hans planted everything that wouldn’t grow in our vineyard back home. The first vintage was ‘98, and we built the winery. Hans was over the moon because it was better than ever expected.”

All the plantings are close, with 62,000 vines planted on the 11.5ha, or 5500 vines per hectare. Yields are extremely low, around 2 tonnes per hectare.

Hans who is not only the wine-maker, but the hands on viticultur-

“In Europe the continental climate means every vintage is different, you can get maybe two good vintages out of every 10,” she says. “We looked at the Napa, but our pockets weren’t big enough. We looked at Australia, but the climate wasn’t good enough. Then when we came to Marlborough, Hans said, this would be a fantastic place to grow grapes.”

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ist says he has optimised each and every row. Over the past 14 years, varieties have come and gone, with top grafting common when he has been able to get his hands on new varieties and/or clones.

In his words, he has “planted everything that wouldn’t grow at home.”

But it wasn’t easy to begin with, given there was a dearth of varie-ties available in New Zealand. His first experiment was with Mon-tepulciano, not a variety he ever intended to grow given it was the cheap, staple wine he and Therese had drunk when they were young. But beggars can’t be choosers

“We had to take what we could get,” Hans says.

Ormond Nurseries had 2500 Montepulciano vines available, so he took them. He said to Therese, “if we can get this ripe, we can get anything ripe”.

And he hasn’t been disap-

pointed, saying it is the one variety that has surprised him the most.

“For me one of the latest ripen-ing, but for me it is the best,” he says. “Since the first vintage I have never been disappointed, never.”

Nebbiolo was one of the next varieties to be planted and that was a real struggle Hans admits.

Planted in 1996, it was 2004 before he got his first crop. Maybe the vines heard him telling Ther-ese, that it wasn’t working and he would have to pull them out and replace with something else. Just in time, the vines fruited and the resulting wine was so good, they have remained an integral part of the vineyard.

Since then Hans has devel-oped somewhat of a vine univer-sity, especially since Riversun began importing new clones and varieties into New Zealand in the 2000s. Currently his varietal sta-tus sits at 29, although he admits

not everything he has planted has been successful.

“We have pulled many out and replaced them,” he says. “A few, some clones, like Pinot Noir Clone 5, I don’t like, so we top grafted. We keep the root system there. Some we pull out four or five rows for a new something more interesting. There is more fine-tuning and will it always be like that, oh yeah.”

The two most challenging vari-eties for him so far have been are Marsanne and Roussanne.

“In the vineyard they are late ripening and get a bit of powdery easily.”

“It is not your easy grape vari-ety Marsanne, but the wine you make out of it is amazing,” Ther-ese says. “It is like a child, when it is difficult you have to care for it more. But is that a bad thing or a good thing? Do you love it less?”

And when asked if there are other varieties he has in mind

for the future, Therese quickly smiles claiming; “only when we are divorced. There will be no more!”

Hans on the other hand says he would love to try Fiano

“I like the wine, it has huge potential.”

We’ll have to watch this space to see if the Herzog stable includes the Italian white variety in the future.

Currently the 29 varieties grown by Herzog are;

Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris, Viog-nier, Montepulciano, Nebbiolo, Grenache, Cabernet Franc, Mer-lot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, Sangiovese, Semillon, Barbera, Tempranillo, Zweigelt, St Lau-rent, Lagrein, Saperavi, Riesling, Viognier, Marsanne, Roussanne, Verdelho, Arneis, Gruner Veltliner, Chardonnay, Muscat-Ottonel, Vermintino, Gewurztraminer and Sauvignon Blanc. ■[email protected]

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CENTRALPINOT

MASTER’S VIEW OF OUR WINEA s organisers were gear-

ing up for the 11th anni-versary of the Central Otago Pinot Celebration

at the end of January, one weary wine scribe was preparing to leave a UK winter behind and catch up with some old acquaintances.

Though, to describe Master of Wine Tim Atkin as weary would be a wee bit disingenuous. In fact, it couldn’t be further from the truth. In a calendar year that can see him spending long periods of time liv-

ing out of a suitcase and pressing flesh with the alumni behind some of the planet’s finest wines, Atkin’s fervour for his job has not abated one little bit.

After 28 years of waxing lyrical about wine and with far too many accolades to list here, Atkin is pretty straight-forward when it comes to explaining how he man-ages to keep his enthusiasm for wine intact.

“Well to be honest with you, wine is made in much nicer places

M A R K O R T O N

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than beer or vodka is made, so you get to visit beautiful places which is great. But it just combines so many things; people, taste, there’s climatology, there’s geology. I’m increasingly starting to get inter-ested in geology and like most wine writers I think I know a lit-tle bit about it but as it turns out I know almost nothing.”

When talking about beautiful places and interesting geology, Atkin’s enthusiasm for all things Central Otago is only too evident. With an impressive knowledge of the region’s distinctive locations and able to talk about say, the dif-ference between Lowburn, Ben-digo, Bannockburn and Gibbston with ease, what he is really look-ing forward to, is seeking out and assessing the development of sub-regional styles.

“I’m really keen to see how terroir driven style is starting to emerge?”

For someone who spends his life travelling, tasting and writ-ing, the opportunity to get out and about amongst the vines and talk with the folk at the coal face is the most valuable part of the job.

“Sure, big tastings in one room are great for busy people, but there is no substitute for

getting out there. If the job of a journalist becomes just sitting in a room and typing scores into a computer without any contact with winemakers or the vineyards, then we’ve lost sight of what wine should be about.”

Given another UK writer has recently said he believes some Central Pinots are becoming too jammy, Atkin says there is plenty of variation within the wines pro-duced in the region

“Well, its a fair point as they certainly can be quite dark in col-our, but again it depends on the producer. If you look at some of the Two Paddocks’ styles or the Grasshopper Rock styles or the stuff that Nick Mills is making at Rippon, they tend to be lighter. There are lighter styles. But I think because of where the region is and the climate, you are predisposed to producing big styles, deeply coloured. They’re certainly big wines…and really, what is wrong with that?”

However when it comes to New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc, Atkin has some concerns.

“I think the worry for New Zealand is the dominance of Sau-vignon Blanc,” he says. “It has become something of a cash cow

and consumers don’t seem to dif-ferentiate between the cheap stuff that is often shipped in bulk and bottled in the UK and the stuff that’s worth paying a bit extra for. I think that one could contaminate the other. The bottom is pulling the top end down. The worry for New Zealand is two-fold, one that they are associated with one grape variety and the other is that the quality of Sauvignon Blancs that we are seeing in the mass mar-ket are not as good as they used to be. Is New Zealand betraying those consumers in a sense?” But, getting consumers to divert their trolley’s away from the Sauvi-gnon aisle is another issue entirely. It is a frame of mind which Atkin says is also experienced within New Zealand vineyards.

“I think the diversity of New Zealand wines need to be strengthened. I think Bordeaux style blends particularly based on Merlot more so than Cabernet, aromatics and the top shelf Char-donnay’s are terrific. I’m always banging on about the quality of the Syrahs and of course Pinot, it’s just getting better and better. But, with that caveat, I think you need to be aware that just because you make a Pinot Noir from New

Zealand you (may not be able to) instantly sell it. It’s very difficult to just emerge in the market place and sell a wine for 25 quid. A lot of people have come unstuck doing that. I can see why they do it, yields are low and it’s an expensive place to produce grapes and then to ship it off around the world”

So, what exactly can or should New Zealand winemakers be doing to try and keep the brand fresh and in line with the clean, green and innovative culture that we would like the rest of the world to per-ceive us as having?

“I’d like to see a bit more exper-imentation,” he says. “You know people are starting to try Albariño and Grüner Veltliner and other bits and pieces. I wouldn’t mind somebody having a bit of a go with a few more of those sort of mari-time varieties that work well in cool climates.

“Then there is the real lack of blends. New Zealand tends to be a bit varietal as it’s an easy mes-sage to convey. That’s where South Africa has got a bit of an edge on New Zealand with it’s white wines, it’s in the blends. You need a few more boundary pushers in New Zealand, a couple of mavericks. ■

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WINERYPROFILE

SURVIVING TOUGH TIMEST E S S A N I C H O L S O N

I n 2007 at the age of 26, Kate Acland decided she wanted to have her own winery where she could concen-

trate on her Sugar Loaf label and maybe provide some contract win-emaking facilities. Unfortunately though, that first vintage of 2008 coinciding with the global finan-cial crises, put paid to the prospect of profitability. For a few years at least.

Acland’s story is one of youth-ful enthusiasm, not dimmed by an unrelenting market and some very hard times.

Having studied Viticulture and Oenology at Lincoln, she then went on to make the worst mistake of her life, she jokingly says.

“I got a job for about eight months and it was dreadful. I very quickly established that I was prob-ably the world’s worst employee – I am not very good working for people.”

So she went back to Lincoln and did her Masters in Farm Manage-ment Consultancy. In 2004 she went to Marlborough to under-take a vintage and created her own Sugar Loaf label. (Named after the

Sugar Loaf Islands off the coast of Taranaki where she grew up). A few years travelling overseas ended in 07 when she came back to Mar-lborough looking for some sort of project, where she would be the employer, not the employee.

Discovering a former winery/cider facility on TradeMe, she took the bulls by the horn and purchased it, with the support of the bank.

“In hindsight I can’t believe they let me buy it. I was 26 years old, and while my parents helped with the bank paper work, the bank

essentially lent me several million dollars. That just wouldn’t happen these days.”

But this was 2007 – the wine industry was bullish, the over-supply was yet to happen and the global financial crises was unheard of.

Acland quickly went about securing fruit – at prices of $2600 a tonne, gained three small wine companies who were looking for contract winemaking facilities, and prepared to make and then sell the resulting wine.

“I was very naive at the time.

Kate Acland.


I thought making the wine was the hard bit and it would just sell itself. Then suddenly there was an absolute flood of wine on the market. It is horrendous looking back at it. We had some seriously hard times.”

She had to re think her entire business plan, which after careful analysis showed the only profitable part of Sugar Loaf Winery, was the contracting winemaking.

“I quickly identified that even though there are some fantastic contract winemaking facilities in Marlborough, there are not many places you can take your 40 or 50 tonnes of grapes to,” Acland says.

While she had three small com-panies already on board, she began looking for others. That decision proved to be the lifeline she and Sugar Loaf Winery needed. In 2008 they processed 200 tonnes, in 2014, they processed 1000.

“We still have those three origi-

nal clients and have added the oth-ers and we have grown the business with them. But we have no further plans to grow any further, because we think that would mean we lose our point of difference.”

A lot has happened to Acland in the seven years since she bought the Rapaura based winery. In 2010 she moved out of Marlborough to marry David, a high country farmer from Mt Somers in Canterbury, she had the first of her three babies and took over the running of the winery from afar. With a small

team of assistant winemaker, and winery manager holding the fort back in Marlborough, Acland regu-larly travels from Christchurch to Blenheim to keep her finger on the pulse.

“The contract wine making facility is something I can run from down there and I have amazing staff and clients to work with.”

Through all the tumultuous and quite frankly, extremely tough years, Acland has quietly worked away at her own label. Although with three children under the age

of four it hasn’t been easy market-ing it.

“My original plan was to make all my own wine and sell it at a super premium – you know that lovely dream we all have. On paper when you are selling your wine at $7 a litre, it all looks great, but in reality it wasn’t that easy. And not being able to be in the market has meant we haven’t expanded our own label as much as I had intended.”

Despite that she is exporting to Australia, the UK, Ireland and now Canada and sales are steadily growing.

She also has no regrets, even when thinking back to those tough years of 08 and 09, when there were months that she couldn’t pay herself a cent.

They were hard years, but I often think now, how lucky I was to get this opportunity.” ■[email protected]

“On paper when you are selling your wine at $7 a litre, it all looks great, but in reality it wasn’t that easy. And not being able to be in the market has meant we haven’t expanded our own label as much as I had intended.”

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WINEMAKINGNEWS

WINEMAKING PRACTICES ON COLOUR, PHENOLICSK I R S T E N C R E A S Y – H I L L S L A B O R AT O R I E S

I n my previous article (NZ Winegrower issue 88) I out-lined the various phenolic characters in red wine pro-

duction and what their role is from fermentation to final wine. That was the easy part! The next step is looking at how winemaking practices influence final phenolic outcomes.

The picture of phenolic extrac-tion is a murky one and significant papers in the past have contra-dicted each other on the out-comes. Given this, are there any definite “rules” to the phenolic game? I believe so.

Let us first consider what it is we want to achieve from tannin and colour extraction. Organo-leptically: A red wine with a good stable colour and enough grip to help the wine age but that does not overwhelm the fruit, and to provide a good accompaniment to food.

Chemically: a wine with a high degree of polymeric anthocyanins (stable colour) and optimal condi-tions to keep binding the mono-meric anothocyanins to a stable form; manage the extraction of

skin/seed phenolics to press off at the optimal balance between the two.

So if we dive right into the most obvious winemaking differences, let’s see if we can find a rule of thumb………

The most obvious first choice is how to process the fruit. A full de-stem and crush allows earlier seepage of anthocyanins from the broken skin cells leading to a good colour in the must and a high level of monomeric anthocyanins or anthocyanin (A+A) complexes (self-association) which is not very stable. However, without a huge amount of phenolic mate-rial to stabilize them, this colour could be very transitory. Full de-stem but no crush (ie whole berries) changes the extraction dynamics and slows the process down but theoretically is the same as 100% crushed fruit. With the addition of whole bunches into de-stemmed or crushed fruit you are, in essence, adding a poten-tially very useful source of both flavanols and flavonols from the stems. Flavanols strongly bind with anthocyanins to form stable

“It is well recognised that Pinot Noir grapes have a higher ratio of seed to skin phenolics, which also carries through into the wine.” Photo Fromm Winery, supplied by NZW.

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WINEMAKING PRACTICES ON COLOUR, PHENOLICScolour compounds. Flavonols also bind with anthocyanins but this is a weaker bond and is only a tempo-rary fix for colour stability.

Okay, given that, what if we throw pre-ferment soaks in? This is probably the most controver-sial of topics and it certainly has been a question that has plagued researchers for many years. I don’t believe we can talk about cold soaks without specifying vari-ety. As I understand, Pinot is the most likely variety for cold soak preferment. We know that phe-nolic development in Pinot wines is very different to other varieties. During fermentation, anthocya-nins can be extracted, and peak before a good level of skin and seed phenolics are extracted, leaving the colour potentially vulnerable to losses or oxidation. However, Bordeaux varieties and Syrah extract colour and phenolics at roughly the same time during fer-ment. So, theoretically, if you are going to cold soak Pinot, adding some element of whole bunch to provide a phenolic substrate for the colour stability makes good sense, whereas, other red varieties already have a great potential pool of phenolics to stabilize the colour.

There have been a number of

papers investigating varying addi-tions of sulphur, tannin, enzymes, acids, sugar, dry ice, oak chips and other varieties to co-ferment all in an attempt to provide better, more stable colour and pleasing pheno-lics. A lot of these papers contra-dict each other or show that, after time, these effects are negligible. Some papers only look at results straight after ferment and others report a consistent loss of colour or phenolics long term (eg add-ing tannin). It is also important to consider the size of the ferments in the experiment – can we scale up from coffee plungers to com-mercial reality and get the same effect? So, in my opinion, these areas are best left to trial commer-cially in your winery to determine if it suits your winestyle, philoso-phy and vintage logistics.

The effects of cap management during ferment also is a pretty dif-ficult topic to research and provide good solid guidelines on. Pre-fer-ment and during fermentation, cap management is a matter of common sense – keeping the cap wet to prevent volatility, distribut-ing heat throughout the tank and optimising phenolic extraction from the skins and seeds. There are a number of papers which

have tried to compare differing managements but many of them are………..contradictory! Again, it is very difficult to compare results as things like temperature, length of pumpover or plunging, the tech-nique, how thorough the mixing was, were not specified. So, no real rule of thumb here in my opinion.

Which leaves us finally with maceration post ferment. This, in my opinion, is where the big-gest changes occur and where the most decision making needs to happen. What is happening to the phenolics and colour after the tumult of ferment? It is accepted that the increase in alcohol and high temperatures are required in order to extract the skin and seed phenolics. There are many debates about the ideal tempera-tures and alcohol levels – again with few concrete rules of thumb. There is a general consensus that during extended maceration, we see an increase in the extraction of seed phenolics. There is quite often a loss of colour, which could be due to adsorption of antho-cyanins on the yeast lees. Some papers have reported that with very long maceration (greater than 30 days) there is a loss of skin phe-nolics and colour, but although the

mechanism for this has not been adequately explained, it is likely to involve precipitation of tannins from yeast proteins. One thing of note, is varietal difference, specifi-cally between Pinot and other red grapes. It is well recognised that Pinot Noir grapes have a higher ratio of seed to skin phenolics, which also carries through into the wine. However, other red grapes have a lesser quantity of seed phenolics and in addition, fewer of these phenolics are extracted during fermentation. In essence, Pinot has a double hit! This has the potential to create unbalanced and bitter Pinot Noir wines and needs very careful management. Once you have extracted high levels of catechin, it is very difficult to ‘refine’ the wine during aging and prebottling.

All the research to date has only provided a starting point for explaining phenolic behaviour in wines. In the US many winemakers will use regular testing of pheno-lics to provide them with empiri-cal data on their specific sites and wines. While this is of some use, it cannot be directly translated to our wines due to the real differ-ences in site, soils, climate and varieties. ■

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REGIONSNELSON

AT ONE WITH THE LANDI spent some time walking

around the vineyards of Matua Whenua, the home of Aronui wines when the

vineyards were only a few years old and the impression I got at the time was of a special place that was being developed with sensitivity by a passionate viticulturist. Four years later I met with the people who showed me around the vine-yard, but this time in offices that reflect the same sensitivity for their environment; beautifully designed rather than just another

concrete slab in the middle of a city.

Architectural design may seem quite a jump from a vineyard but the desire to create something lasting for future generations is what makes the Aronui story spe-cial.

Aronui wines are created by the Maori-owned New Zealand wine company Kono Beverages, part of the Wakatu Incorporation, and the word Aronui derives from ancient Maori mythology and speaks of the pursuit of knowledge, including in

the arts and working with the land in beneficial ways.

The name Whenua Matua means significant land—and sig-nificant it is. The vineyard is on tribal land in the Moutere Hills region and remains in the owner-ship of its traditional owners.

The Aronui story is pretty straightforward, own some land, plant some grapes, make some wine, sell it! However when I met with Whenua Matua viticulturist Jonny Hiscox and General Man-ager of Sales and Marketing for

the Kono group Mike Brown we talked about such a wide range of things that add up to what makes Aronui special, it is hard to know where to start so let’s start at the beginning, the land.

The Whenua Matua vineyard land has special significance to Iwi in the region. Located in the Moutere Hills the land is part of Tenths Reserve lands, can never be sold and is part of the heart of Iwi in the top of the South Island. Wakatu Incorporation is, in essence, a commercial organisa-

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tion that is tasked with managing the investment assets of descend-ants from four Iwi in the top of the South Island and Kono is the food and beverage business of Wakatu Incorporation. The three sectors

of Beverages (wine), Horticulture (apples, pears, kiwifruit, hops) and Seafood (mussels, oysters, lob-ster) all have cultural importance as well as being business sectors.

Whanau are referred to as

owners rather than shareholders as they are encouraged to take an active role in the management and governance of Wakatu Inc. Because of the nature of the own-ership the owners take a conserva-

tive, long term view, a view that is about how they will treat the lands for future generations.

The businesses also invest heavily in their owners, they pro-vide scholarships and employ-

The Whenua Matua Valley team from left; Mike Duffield, Bruce Adam, Murray Moffatt and Jonny Hiscox.

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ment opportunities as well as returning a dividend. At Whenua Matua, owners are encouraged to visit the land where, as well as growing superb grapes they have significant plantings of New Zea-land native species.

With a multi-generational view it is important that at Whenua Matua they protect the existing ecosystems and enhance them for future generations. They are involved in annual plantings, nur-turing as giving back to the land is paramount to their beliefs and culture.

Extensive native plantings provide materials for traditional Maori crafts, specific flaxes are planted for harvesting as weaving material and the small lake that is becoming an important part of the ecosystem on the land has been landscaped and provides a place where owners can access and enjoy the beauty.

When the vineyards were first developed Hiscox was employed as the viticulturist however he brings a lot more to the Aronui brand than just growing grapes. When he emigrated from the UK

some 20 years ago he thought he should learn to speak Te Reo and now speaks it fluently.

His understanding of Maori culture and heritage has also been instrumental in developing a qual-ity vineyard with sensitivity to the land as well as contributing to the Aronui brand.

Hiscox says; “One thing that helps with the quality production of different varieties is the nature of the vineyard. With a number of small blocks that are planted in different orientations each block has its own idiosyncrasies, then add to this various clones and root stocks and the result is winemak-ers having many choices when it comes to harvest. Each block delivers different attributes and different ripening times.” He says “each small block can be managed differently and while it is more intensive to manage, the micro-management of the canopy and crop thinning are easier to do on small blocks. We can do much more and the result is great qual-ity fruit going to the winery.”

Brown says one of the things that sets Aronui apart in the mar-

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ketplace is that they have a story to tell about their wines and this is an important market-ing tool for the brand. He says Wakatu Inc. also provide a nurturing environment for its staff and Kono are encouraging Hiscox to take the next step in his career, to move beyond being just a viticulturist, “Kono are starting to hang the Aronui story around him. He can tell the story from the ownership of the land to the finished product because he was involved in developing the land, he planted and nurtured the vines, has a connection with the wine and land and he can sell the passion behind the wine, a significant advantage in the market place.”

Wakatu Inc. also encourage their staff to give back to the com-munity and part of their job is to take part in industry organisa-tions. Brown sits on the board of New Zealand Winegrowers while Hiscox is currently the chairman of Nelson Winegrowers.

Whenua Matua and Aronui wines are a source of mana for the Iwi owners and bring pride back to company and owners, the own-ers are proud to see the product on retail shelves and wine lists, Brown says “they become brand ambassadors.” ■[email protected]

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Gisborne’s Nicola Wright receives first prize in the 2014 Enterprising Rural Women Awards Making it in Rural category from Lynne Le Gros, general manager of the Spark Foundation.

REGIONSGISBORNE

AN ENTERPRISING WOMANJ U S T I N E T Y E R M A N

G isborne vineyard and winery co-owner Nicola Wright has been awarded a top prize in the 2014

Enterprising Rural Women Awards winning the Making it in Rural category.

Wright, an impressive multi-tasker with enviable time-manage-ment skills not only runs Wrights Vineyard and Winery at Manutuke in partnership with her husband Geoff, but is also a criminal law-yer, chef, marketing guru . . . and mother of four young sons.

“I am excited, proud . . . and a little exhausted to have won this

award,” says Wright after collect-ing $1000, a hand-blown glass trophy and a Galaxy Note 4 from category sponsor Spark NZ at a ceremony in Rotorua.

She attributes her success to “sweat, determination and a little number eight wire”.

The Wrights own 18 hectares of land, a commercial winery and cellar door café 15 kilometres from

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AN ENTERPRISING WOMANGisborne city.

Describing themselves as “self-believers, risk-takers, passionate pioneers and guardians of the land,” Wright says they built the business from the ground up over a period of 10 years. They now pro-duce premium certified organic wines in three ranges: Wrights, The Natural Wine Co and Mister Right.

They were the first in New Zea-land to use natural clay as a fining agent instead of the usual fish, milk and egg. This led to approval by the Vegetarian Society to label their wine as vegetarian-friendly — also a first in the country.

Winning the Making it in Rural category is a huge achievement,

Wright says. “It is a privilege to win this, the toughest category of the awards. The entrants were all of a really high standard, so it is humbling to think that my busi-ness was the most successful in the category. It was a broad field with a lot of really talented women,” she says.

“And it was just great to repre-sent Gisborne, organic wine and viticulture in a category that cov-ered back-country farms to small boutique businesses.”

Wright says preparing for the awards was a great goal-setting exercise.

“It is good to measure your business against others. It is a reminder of what to focus on and

how to go forward.”The mother of four young boys

including a “wakeful” eight-month-old baby, Wright is in charge of the marketing for the winery, she’s the chef at the winery café and also runs her own crimi-nal law practice.

“Whether it’s family, wine or crime, I always give it my best. Beyond reasonable doubt, these are exciting, challenging and rewarding times in the wine indus-try,” she says.

Wright hopes at least one of their four sons will continue with the family legacy of winemaking which started back in the 1930s when Geoff ’s Croatian great-grandfather, Stanko Jurakovich,

was granted one of the original winemaking licences in Kumeu.

“The future is looking bright with son Noah, 7, already able to distinguish between most white wines.”

This year marked the sixth of the annual Enterprising Rural Women Awards.

To be eligible, women had to own and operate a small business with fewer than 10 full-time staff, be based in a rural area and have been operating for at least two years.

If in a partnership, women needed to be an active partner of 50 percent or more in the busi-ness. ■[email protected]

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REGIONSHAWKE’S BAY

FROM RUGBY TO WINEF ormer All Black John Ash-

worth was on a rugby tour when he discovered the pleasure of drinking an

exceptional wine. Before then, his experience of

the product had been pretty much restricted to Cold Duck and Blue Nun. Playing in France on his first international tour in 1977, he sam-pled a Pinot Noir so outstanding that “it went to my toes”.

The former prop explains that this was before the professional era, when New Zealand’s rugby representatives had more free-dom to enjoy the countries they were touring.

At the time, his palate wasn’t educated enough, he says, to appreciate a Bordeaux-style wine. “Pinot Noir just hit the spot. It’s been hitting the spot ever since really.”

The toe-tingling revelation triggered a lifelong passion for wine and ultimately it was to lead to John and wife Jo establishing The Junction Vineyard, a 10ha block and cellar door they operate on their cattle, sheep and cropping farm in Central Hawke’s Bay.

Serendipity has also played its part in their venture.

The couple started their mar-ried life on a small farming block in Canterbury, where John made big money as a freezing worker for 10 years while Jo ran the property. When Jo’s parents retired to Feild-ing, she and John started looking for a better farm, preferably in the North Island. In 1986, they bought in Takapau, on the corner of High-

ways 2 and 50 west of Waipukurau.As it turned out, it was also

great country for grapes. A neighbouring farmer, Sir

Richard Harrison was among the first to recognise the area’s wine-growing potential. Well-travelled, the former Speaker of the House and local MP enjoyed wine, par-ticularly bubbly. He backed his belief that it could be grown on the Takapau Plains in developing his own small vineyard.

Drawing on his knowledge and guidance, the Ashworths put in Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling and Pinot Noir cuttings around their homestead. At that stage, the cou-ple were strictly hobbyists. “We wanted to see if we could grow our own Pinot Noir basically,” says John, but he and Jo soon found they couldn’t keep pace with the volume of wine produced.

So the Ashworths, Sir Richard and Malcolm Johansen and Shirley

Stubbs – also locals trialling grape growing – joined forces to form The Three Sisters wine company, a brand inspired by three prominent hills behind Takapau.

“And we would find a win-emaker each year and try to improve on the year before’s quality and then attempt to sell it around the area. So it was very much hands-on and we were all doing a bit,” John says.

Montana too, had shown inter-

M A R Y S H A N A H A N

NZ WINEGROWER FEBRUARY/MARCH // 57

est in the Tikokino and Ongaonga areas of Central Hawke’s Bay but ran into resistance from farmers who raised concerns about the effects of their thistle-spraying on the vines with local government.

Eventually, deaths and retire-ments saw The Three Sisters’ partnership fold, but in 2000, the Ashworths expanded their plant-ings onto red metal soils on the other side of Highway 2, opposite their farmhouse.

Free-draining and gently slop-ing or terraced in two directions, the block catches good sun. John says it is also spared Central Hawke’s Bay’s crippling spring frosts.

“I do tell the story that if I hear the choppers go over, I take a bot-tle of Pinot Noir around to Dot, a very good friend and our local minister, and she’d do the praying and I’d have a glass of Pinot Noir and it seemed to work.”

At 250 metres above sea level, the growing conditions are unlike those more generally experienced on the Heretaunga Plains or even nearby.

“The climate changes very dra-matically every kilometre down this road,” John points out. “You get to the Waipukurau Golf Course and you hit that lower area there and it’s either foggy or very frosty. Waipukurau is three degrees hot-ter in summer than here, and they also get some pretty good frosts in springtime. So we don’t tend to get those frosts or get the damage here. That was a bit of luck.”

The looming Ruahine Range attracts regular rain, growing days are hot, and cool nights slow rip-ening, helping the grapes retain their flavours.

Over the years, curious motor-ists who regularly travel these roads have seen the rows increase. Production is now 40-60 tonnes. The Ashworths’ choices of varie-ties have been guided by soil and other tests undertaken by Villa Maria during a partnership that

ended after three years. The Junction’s single vine-

yard range encompasses John’s favoured Pinot Noir and other cool-climate loving varieties – Gewurztraminer, Riesling, Sau-vignon Blanc and Pinot Gris – as well as the ubiquitous Chardon-nay. Styles include a methode traditionelle, a Rosé and a late harvest wine.

Harvesting is late at this rela-tively high altitude – the second week in April – but picking is a relatively easy process with the different varieties ripening in close order.

For the last seven years, The Junction’s winemaker has been son Leith, who studied oenology and viticulture at Lincoln Univer-sity and is based in Hawke’s Bay making wine for The Wine Portfo-lio, formerly Morton Estate.

“His winemaking skills are very good for a young person and he’s been consistently getting medals for our varieties,” says Jo. “So he’s helped us along the journey, which has made it special.”

The Ashworths are happy to continue selling their wines into selected bars and restaurants and welcoming visitors to their picturesquely rustic cellar door. An extension of their home, it includes a “rugby room” where sport enthusiasts can sift through memorabilia collected by John as they sample wines that, like Pos-session Pinot Noir and Runaway Riesling, take their names from the national game.

“We’re just saying we’re this unique little area that can actu-ally grow eight different varieties at a very high standard,” says Jo. “At this stage we love it, it would be nice to keep the quality of the wines going on, just continue on what we are doing I think.

“You do farming in the morn-ing and open the cellar door in the afternoon. The quality sells itself.” ■[email protected]

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SAVERGLASS AUSTRALIA Pty Ltd289 Flinders Street, Adelaide SA 5000PO Box 6537 (Halifax Street), Adelaide SA 5000Tel. : (08) 8232.0770 / Fax : (08) 8232.0880www.saverglass.com / [email protected]

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REGIONSHAWKE’S BAY

TURKEY AND NEW ZEALAND UNITEM A R Y S H A N A H A N

A n associate professor of viticulture from a country with one of the world’s longest records of wine-

making, Dr Elman Bahar recently worked with EIT scientists on several major industry research projects.

From Namik Kemal Univer-sity in Turkey, Dr Bahar primar-ily worked with researchers on a study aimed at establishing whether the use of an anti-tran-spirant spray may be a viable

alternative to removing foliage on grapevines – a practice aimed at achieving optimum berry ripe-ness and wine quality.

Dr Bahar is the first interna-tional researcher to be based at EIT on sabbatical. During his three-month stint, he worked with School of Viticulture and Wine Science researchers Dr Petra King and Associate Professor Carmo Saunders-Vasconcelos.

As the growing season got underway, the research team

mainly focused on setting up the second year of the study, which is being extended to include Sauvi-gnon Blanc as well as Merlot. Dr Bahar also assisted in developing and training members of EIT’s wine sensory panel, a project established by Dr Vasconcelos.

Dr Bahar has maintained con-tact with EIT since meeting an international marketing team in Turkey five years ago. Having read about New Zealand’s wine industry in specialist publications,

he was interested in seeing it for himself.

While his experience was largely limited to Hawke’s Bay, he says the two countries are very dif-ferent in terms of their viticulture.

Turkey, he says has a hot cli-mate and the industry encom-passes traditional and new methods for making wine.

“New Zealand has cool climate conditions and attracts a lot of rain. You don’t have the same diseases we have in Turkey. Your


wines are completely different – they are more aromatic and fruity and floral. In Turkey the wines are more tannic.”

Turkey was among the first countries in the world to domes-ticate the wild Eurasian grapevine and wine is believed to have been made there for at least 7000 years.

It is the world’s fifth biggest grape growing region, harvesting more than four million tonnes of fruit a year.

Most of the production, how-ever, is for table grapes and raisins. Turkey produces less wine than New Zealand and only a small proportion of that is destined

for export. It is ranked 35th in the world for wine production and New Zealand 18th.

By comparison, however, New Zealand is ranked 37th in the world for its vineyard area and only a small proportion of Turkey’s grapes end up as exported wine.

However, Anatolia on the Asia Minor side of Turkey is where Vitus vinifera, the common grape-vine, originated and the 300,000 hectares of vineyard in this region are mainly for growing table wine.

Turkey grows classical French varieties such as Cabernet Sauvi-gnon, Syrah, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Malbec and also some Italian and German varieties. However, 1400 local varieties provide irreplaceable genetic diversity. Many of these are grown for making wine, largely for local consumption.

As a variety, Kalecik karasi may be more than 1000 years old.

Other reds include Papazkarasi, Bagazkere, Horoz Karasi and Karalahna. The best local red, says Dr Bahar, is Okuzgoyzu, a very tannic and aromatic wine. Whites include Beylerce, Hasandede, Nar-ince and Emir.

Throughout Turkey, most vines are grown in the traditional bush form and are not trellised.

The area in vineyard decreased from 517,000 acres in 2012 to 468,000 acres last year as vines made way for olive and fruit trees. But while there was a 20 percent decrease in the vineyard area between 1988 and 2013, there was a 20 percent increase in yield.

Some 27,000 students attend Namik Kemal University in Tekirdag province on the Euro-pean side of Turkey. Dr Bahar supervises students working on master’s and doctorate degrees in viticulture. ■[email protected]

Elman Bahar with Carmo Vasconcelos in EIT’s vineyard.


REGIONSMARLBOROUGH

BACK TO NATUREA u n i q u e p a r t n e r s h i p

between a Marlborough Sounds wildlife sanctuary and a major wine com-

pany is helping develop a slice of nature right on the doorstep of the township of Picton.

Kaipupu Point Sounds Wildlife Sanctuary is a 40-hectare headland of native bush that volunteers have worked tirelessly to make predator free. That task will become slightly easier now that Mud House Wines have signed up as a Rimu (major) sponsor.

Chairman of the Kaipupu Point Mainland Island Society, Barry Maister, says the 40 hectares has had an interesting history, with the port side having been the base for the local freezing works from 1902 to 1983. While there is a large portion of original virgin forest on the headland, the rest had been scoured of bush and used as the works’ farmland. Introduced pests such as rats, possums, and cats ran free, wreaking havoc on the native wildlife in the area.

In 2005 the land which is owned jointly by Port Marlborough and DOC, was placed into a trust with the aim of establishing a sanctu-

ary. Since then, the volunteers have established a predator free fence, undertaken massive pest trappings and are now as close to being rat, stoat, possum, cat and mouse free as is possible, given the location so close to the township of Picton. Walkways through the bush have been created, and an educational programme with local schools is underway.

Birdlife has increased, native plantings have been undertaken and regenerating bush is thriving. This year the Sanctuary is keen to reintroduce native species onto the site, with South Island Robins

likely to be the first translocation. But none of that happens without major sponsorship, Maister says.

Sales and Marketing Manager for Mud House Wines, Jack Glover, says there is a natural fit between them and Kaipupu Point.

“We spent a great a deal of time thinking about what Mud House stands for, its values and person-ality,” he says. “We wanted to give value back to the community, via something that is lasting. To me Kaipupu is at a threshold, it is going to go up and up. I can see it growing and delivering back to Picton and the greater Marlborough region.”

Some of the sponsorship funds have already been used to clear an elevated viewing area, where a hand crafted table and seating have been placed.

Glover says the company will also provide funds to allow the Trust to take people to the sanc-tuary (which is only accessible by water) and will donate wine for future fundraising events. The remainder of the sponsorship funding goes towards ongoing pest eradication, track mainte-nance and restoration of flora and fauna. ■[email protected]

T E S S A N I C H O L S O N

Jack Glover (left) and Barry Maister, at the elevated clearing which Mud House have helped create, allowing visitors an unsurpassed view of Queen Charlotte Sound.

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COUNTRY EVENT CITY EVENT DATE

Asia New Zealand Wine Fair Shanghai Tue 19 May 15

New Zealand Wine Fair Beijing Thu 21 May 15

New Zealand Wine Fair Guangzhou Tue 26 May

New Zealand Wine Fair Hong Kong Thu 28 May

Australia Taste Sydney 12-15 Mar 15

Taste Perth 1-3 May 15

Canada New Zealand in a Glass Montreal Tue 5 May 15

New Zealand in a Glass Toronto Thu 7 May 15

New Zealand in a Glass Halifax Tue 12 May 15

New Zealand in a Glass Vancouver Thu 14 May 15

USA Bottlenotes San Francisco Fri 27 Feb 15

Bottlenotes Miami Wed 11 Mar 15

Bottlenotes Washington DC Fri 27 Mar 15

New Zealand Wine Tasting Las Vegas - TBC Mar 15 -TBC

New Zealand Wine Fair San Francisco Mon 27 Apr 15

New Zealand Wine Fair New York Thu 30 Apr 15

To register for these events log on to nzwine.com/members then click on NZ Wine Marketing. You can also contact the New Zealand Winegrowers Global Events Team on [email protected] or (09) 306 5643.

Prowein 2015: 15-17 March2015 will see the 21st edition of Pro-

Wein, one of the largest international wines and spirits trade fairs in the world. For three days, Düsseldorf in Germany becomes a global hub for the wine sector, attracting international wholesale, retail and specialist retail visitors, alongside professionals from the restaurant and hotel industry.

New Zealand Winegrowers have been participating in ProWein since 2004, and winery participation has increased year on year. Once again we will be exhibiting at ProWein 2015 and showcasing over 20 New Zealand wineries, along with several exciting events.

If your winery would like to be part of ProWein 2016 (2015 has now sold out), please contact Sarah Shepherd ([email protected]) or Liv Goudie ([email protected]).

UPCOMING EVENTS

CALENDAR


MARCH

7: Wairarapa Wines Harvest Festival 2015 – Gladstone Vineyard – Wairarapa

12 – 16: Waiheke Vintage Festival – Waiheke Island

14: West Coast Wild Foods Festival – Hokitika

15-17: New Zealand Stand at ProWein – Dusseldorf – Germany

21: Gibbston Wine and Food Festival 2015 – Queenstown

22: Waipara Valley Wine and Food Festival – Glenmark Domain – Waipara

22-25: International Food and Drink Event 2015 – London

JULY8-10: Organic/Biodynamic Wine and Viticulture Conference – Blenheim

AUGUST

26-28: Romeo Bragato Conference 2015 - Hastings

FEBRUARY 3: A Foraged North Canterbury Dinner – seven wineries and outstanding foraged food – New Regent Street, 6.30pm -$175. Tickets available by emailing [email protected]

14: Marlborough Wine and Food Festival

20: Nuits Romantiques – French outdoor movie – 8.30pm, Clos Henri Vineyard Chapel Lawn – Marlborough. (If wet in the winery). Tickets $55 from Clos Henri

28: Waipara Hills Winery Tour – Waipara Hills Cellar Door- Waipara

28: Dog Point/Logan Brown Classic Kiwi Picnic – Dog Point Vineyard – Marlborough

NZ WINEGROWER FEBRUARY/MARCH // 63

STATISTICS

PRINCIPAL EXPORT MARKETS

MAJOR VARIETIES IN MAJOR AREAS

MAJOR NZ VINEYARD AREAS PRODUCING HECTARES

Exports for the year to date to the end of October 2014

(Moving Annual Total)Region 2014 2017

forecast% of Total in 2017

forecast

Marlborough 22,907.0 23,684.3 67.1

Hawkes Bay 4774.3 4886.6 13.9

Otago 1931.8 1953.2 5.5

Gisborne 1914.6 1961.2 5.6

Waipara 1254.6 1257.2 3.6

Nelson 1122.7 1159.7 3.3

Wairarapa / Wellington 995.1 1017.7 2.9

Auckland / Northland 392.3 407.1 1.2

Waikato / Bay of Plenty 24.6 23.28 0.01

National Total 35,510.1 36,547.3

Variety 2014 % producing area 2017 forecast

Sauvignon Blanc 20,029.4 56.4 20,697.2

Pinot Noir 5509.2 15.5 5995.5

Chardonnay 3345.5 9.4 3441.1

Pinot Gris 2451.2 6.9 1395.3

Merlot 1290.0 3.6 1395.3

Riesling 783.7 2.2 781.1

Syrah 433.1 1.2 446.7

Gewurztraminer 375.5 1.1 363.8

Cabernet Sauv 289.4 0.8 306

Viognier 187.4 0.5 182.2

Malbec 126.8 0.4 134.8

Cabernet Franc 112.7 0.3 112

All other varieties 576.3 1.6 594.8

Total 35,510.1 36,547.3

AVERAGE VINEYARD SIZE

Region Number of

Vineyards

Regional area

Planted ha

Average of

area ha

Auckland/Northland 111 392.4 3.5

Waikato/Bay of Plenty 12 24.6 2.1

Gisborne 100 1914.6 19.1

Hawke’s Bay 260 4774.3 18.4

Nelson 118 1122.3 9.5

Marlborough 1014 22,907.0 22.6

Waipara 64 1254.5 19.6

Canterbury 35 193.0 8.4

Wellington/Wairarapa 119 995.1 9.1

Otago 213 1931.8 17.4

National 2046 35,510.1 17.4

CountryLitres

(m)$ FOB

Average

$/L 2014

Average

$/L 2013

UK 53,869 332,468 5.89

USA 52,393 347,955 6.64 6.78

Australia 52,199 360,365 6.90 7.26

Canada 8396 83,702 9.97 10.68

Netherlands 5429 35,417 6.54 6.72

Denmark 987 6987 7.08 7.48

Ireland 2002 14,348 7.17 7.39

Japan 1187 12,877 10.85 12.03

Germany 2268 12,441 5.48 5.48

China 1853 26,546 14.32 12.08

Hong Kong 1350 16,429 12.16 13.17

Singapore 1621 22,224 13.71 12.61

Finland 0.256 2272 8.86 8.57

Norway 0.372 2977 8.00 7.97

Sweden 1.648 13,379 8.12 8.41

Others 6472 58,485 9.04 9.65

TOTAL 192,310,833 1,348,966,066 $7.01 $7.14


LIST OF PROJECTS


Information and Updates on NZ Winegrowers Research Programmes.

Editor: Dr Simon Hooker, General Manager Research and Innovation

A regular feature at the back of each issue of WineGrower to inform industry people about research projects being undertaken for their benefit. Newly approved projects (when available) are briefly summarised in the first section ‘Introducing New Projects’. Longer reports in the section headed ‘Progress Reports’, will describe what has been achieved so far. Scientists in charge of each project have been asked to make these reports reader-friendly rather than to follow the usual format of scientific papers. When completed, each project will be reported in full detail, with references, on the website: www.nzwine.com/members/research

Quality Wine Styles for Existing and Developing MarketsThe pathway of volatile sulphur compounds in wine yeastThe Bragato Trust and NZW ScholarshipUniversity of Auckland(Dr Bruno Fedrizzi - student Matias Kinzurk)

Preliminary investigation of factors responsible for variability in tartaric acid additions to Pinot noirLincoln University (Roland Harrison)

Influence of juice pH on thiol productionPlant and Food Research (Claire Grose)

The pathway of volatile sulphur compounds in wine yeastThe Bragato Trust and NZW ScholarshipUniversity of Auckland (Dr Bruno Fedrizzi - student Matias Kinzurk)

Lifestyle Wine (PGP)University of Auckland and Plant and Food Research (Various) Jointly funded by NZW and MPI Primary Growth Partnership (PGP) fund.

Pests and DiseaseVirus diversity in New Zealand grapevines: sequence, ecology and impactThe Rod Bonfiglioli ScholarshipPlant and Food Research (Dr Robin MacDiarmid - student Arnaud Blouin)

Sustaining vineyards through practical management of grapevine trunk diseasesSouth Australian Research & Development Institute (Mark Sosnowski) Supported by MPI Sustainable Farming Fund

Implementation of Virus Elimination Strategy Various (Nick Hoskins – Project Manager) Supported by MPI Sustainable Farming Fund

Sector weather data licence & toolsHortPlus (NZ) Ltd.

Developing Powdery Mildew Best Practise in New Zealand VineyardsLewis Wright Valuation & Consultancy Ltd (Trevor Lupton)

Sustainability/OrganicsOrganic Focus Vineyard Project Organic Winegrowers New Zealand (Rebecca Reider) Supported by MPI Sustainable Farming Fund

Effects of undervine vegetation management on grape quality, vine performance, grape composition, and soil propertiesEastern Institute of Technology (EIT) (Mark Krasnow)

Cost Reduction/Increased ProfitabilityReduced berry size and Botrytis tolerance through trauma to the vinePlant and Food Research (Mike Trought)

Grapevine growth stage monitoring for prediction of key phenological eventsPlant and Food Research (Rob Agnew) Supported by MPI Sustainable Farming Fund

RESEARCH SUPPLEMENT

PROGRESSREPORTS


Without suitable control meas-ures, Grapevine leafroll-associated virus 3 (leafroll virus) can impose significant costs wherever wine-grapes are grown. Among infected vines, results show yield reduc-tions, delayed accumulation of sol-uble solids and ripening, elevated berry acidity, and if the virus is suf-ficiently widespread, wine quality is lowered. The virus is introduced through the use of infected propa-gating material, and its spread to healthy vines is by way of insect vectors like the citrophilus and longtailed mealybugs (Figure 1). Both mealybugs are commonly found in New Zealand vineyards.

Leafroll virus currently has no cure, so removing infected vines is often the only viable management option available. Where virus incidence is high (e.g. >30–50% of vines), entire blocks may have to be cleared of all vines, although the threshold for such action will vary from one winery to the next, and it will inevitably be influenced by the economic value placed on the crop. However, given the potential for virus to influence vine productivity, wine quality and possibly brand development adversely, it makes good business sense to intervene early when rela-tively few vines are infected (ide-ally, less than 5%).

Conceived by the late Dr Rod Bonfiglioli, the leafroll virus elimi-nation project has been underway since 2009. Funded by New Zea-land Winegrowers with co-fund-

ing from the Sustainable Farming Fund, the first three years of the project included vineyards on the Gimblett Gravels in Hawke’s Bay and Martinborough. While the first project concluded in 2012, it was soon followed by a second project that is due to conclude in June 2015. While Gimblett Gravel vineyards continued to participate in the second project, its scope was widened to include Marlbor-ough vineyards.

In this article, we focus on research undertaken in Marlborough vineyards during 2013 and 2014, and present the results of leafroll virus incidence, patterns of virus spread, and

mealybug populations.Results and discussionIn Marlborough, site selection

was initially limited to four blocks planted in Sauvignon Blanc vines and another four planted in Pinot Noir vines (identified as the long term sites A-M, B-M ...to H-M). In 2014, we added a further nine study blocks (I-M to Q-M), of which eight were planted in Pinot Noir and a ninth planted in Pinot Meunier.

In the absence of being able to use foliar symptoms to identify leafroll virus in Sauvignon Blanc, infected vines were instead identi-fied by enzyme-linked immuno-sorbent assay (ELISA) testing. A

single leaf from each of 500 vines per block was ELISA tested. In 2013, leafroll virus was detected in all four blocks, with incidence ranging from 0.6 to 23% (Table 1). With no ELISA testing undertaken in these blocks in 2014, changes to virus incidence and spread can-not be assessed until 2015 when further testing will occur.

In the Pinot study blocks, ELISA testing was not needed. Instead, infected vines were identified by the distinctive foliar symptoms of dark red downward curling leaves with green veins (Figure 2). The visual assess-ments were undertaken in mid- to late-March. In 2013 and/or

Leafroll virus and mealybug monitoring in Marlborough vineyards

Vaughn Bell, Jim Walker, Peter Shaw and Roger Wallis

The New Zealand Institute for Plant & Food Research Limited, Havelock North and Motueka

12-100

Figure 1. Longtailed mealybug on a vine leaf.


2014, virus-infected Pinot vines were identified in all but two study blocks (Table 1). Of the four long-term Pinot Noir study blocks, E-M was the only site in 2013 where virus-infected vines were not rogued. Whether or not roguing was undertaken in blocks I-M to Q-M will be assessed in March 2015.

With at least two consecutive seasons of virus incidence data from the long term Pinot Noir study blocks, we were able to assess the extent of virus spread from infected to healthy vines. These data also offered insights into the vines most likely to be at risk of acquiring leafroll infection.

In blocks F-M, G-M, and H-M, vines with leafroll symptoms in 2012 represented an accumulation of infections occurring over mul-tiple years that were not rogued. Therefore, while the decline in virus incidence observed between 2012 and 2013 was unsurprising, it was encouraging to observe virus

incidence of less than or equal to 1.0% in 2014. The extent to which these results are replicated in the newly added study blocks (I-M to Q-M) will start to become appar-ent when monitoring resumes in 2015.

Despite the positive results, monitoring of Pinot Noir vines in blocks E-M to H-M provided definitive evidence of virus spread during 2013 and/or 2014. Moreover, in both years, more than half the newly infected vines identified (range: 62-100%) were in close proximity to an earlier infected vine. Most at risk of this pattern of leafroll virus spread were the within-row vines immediately beside an infected vine, a result that was similar to that observed in Hawke’s Bay between 2010 and 2014.

In both regions, the implica-tion of this result was that mealy-bugs colonising and feeding on an infected vine were dispersing relatively short distances along the

row. Virus transmission occurred after one or more mealybugs colo-nised the neighbouring vine and resumed feeding. Such spread illustrates the need for effective mealybug management to be sup-ported by early virus identification and roguing.

With evidence of virus spread in several of the monitored Mar-lborough blocks, the obvious conclusion to be drawn was that mealybugs were responsible. Justification for this statement required appropriate monitoring.

In 2014, mealybug monitoring was undertaken in study blocks A-M to Q-M (n=17 blocks). The programme included collecting a single leaf from each of 400 vines per block. Laboratory-based inspections of each leaf using microscopes enabled counts of all mealybug life stages. In 14 of these blocks, we also established a pheromone-baited trap for each of the citrophilus and longtailed mealybugs.

Pre-harvest vine leaf assess-ments detected mealybugs in 10 of the 17 blocks, with the longtailed mealybug being the dominant spe-cies found. In five blocks, numbers were low, being less than 1 mealy-bug per 100 vine leaves inspected; in another five blocks, however, numbers were substantially higher (range: 6.4 to 78 mealybugs per 100 vine leaves inspected). The pheromone trapping that followed detected the citrophilus mealybug in 13 of the 14 blocks monitored, with the longtailed mealybug detected in eight of those 13 blocks. In eight of the blocks, both species were detected.

The support of a local wine company enabled access to mealy-bug pheromone trap data collected from a further 19 blocks. In each, a single pheromone-baited trap for the citrophilus and longtailed mealybug was established late in the season. The citrophilus mealy-bug was detected in 15 blocks, and the longtailed mealybug in 10 blocks. Both species were present in six of the blocks.

Overall, leaf assessments and/or pheromone trapping in 2014

No. of viruis-infected vines Percent virus incidence

Block Variety 2012 2013 2014 2012 2013 2014

A-M Sauvignon Blanc

-§ 36 - - 7.2 -†

B-M Sauvignon Blanc

- 115 - - 23.0 -†

C-M Sauvignon Blanc

- 3 - - 0.6 -†

D-M Sauvignon Blanc

- 15 - - 3.0 -†

E-M Pinot Noir - 149 ‡ 189 - 10.3 11.9

F-M Pinot Noir 19 7 8 1.0 0.4 0.4

G-M Pinot Noir 126 34 6 7.5 2.0 0.4

H-M Pinot Noir 142 38 9 16.3 5.2 1.0

I-M Pinot Noir - - 0 - - 0.0

J-M Pinot Noir - - 0 - - 0.0

K-M Pinot Noir - - 114 - - 16.2

L-M Pinot Noir - - 47 - - 6.9

M-M Pinot Noir - - 3 - - 0.3

Meunier - - - -

N-M Pinot Noir - - 9 - - 1.1

O-M Pinot Noir - - 74 - - 7.5

P-M Pinot Noir - - 3 - - 0.4

Q-M Pinot Noir - - 8 - - 0.8

Table 1. Percent Grapevine leafroll-associated virus 3 (leafroll virus) incidence recorded in the four Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir vineyard study blocks in Marlborough, 2012 to 2014. In Sauvignon Blanc, leafroll virus incidence in 2013 was confirmed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) testing vine leaves (n=500 vines per block); in the Pinot blocks, visual assessments of foliar symptoms identified virus-infected vines. Note: in all blocks, data from the first year of assessment will have included vines that acquired the virus in the interval between planting and the start of this study.§ No assessments† With no ELISA testing undertaken in 2014, it was assumed virus incidence was unchanged from 2013. Further ELISA testing is scheduled for March 2015‡ Vines not rogued


confirmed the presence of one or both mealybug species in 34 of the 36 blocks accessed. This result was supported by vine leaf assess-ments undertaken in blocks A-M to H-M in 2013, and pheromone trapping for the citrophilus mealy-bug in a further 97 blocks. The 2013 results showed mealybugs were present in 101 of the 105 blocks monitored. That mealybugs were detected in so many blocks in Mar-lborough confirms the distribu-tion of the vector overlaps many vineyard blocks affected by leafroll virus to some extent.

In conclusion, research encompassing just two seasons has highlighted some important issues for Marlborough vineyard owners and operators to contem-

plate. Firstly, in blocks planted in Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot varie-ties, leafroll virus was detected. Secondly, a progressive decline in the numbers of infected vines was observed in three of the long-term Pinot Noir sites, so that by 2014, virus incidence was equal to or less than 1%. This result was not only encouraging, it augers well for the future of virus management in sites adopting a robust roguing strategy. Thirdly, despite some positive results, we now have irref-utable evidence of recent spread of leafroll virus occurring in blocks planted in Pinot Noir. Finally, having detected the presence of mealybugs in vineyards across the Marlborough winegrowing region, we can be confident that if the vec-

tors and the virus are not appropri-ately managed, virus spread will continue to be observed.

To aid in the management of leafroll virus, New Zealand Wine-growers has developed a signifi-cant online repository of resource material. Longer research reports are available to members on the organisation’s website, www.nzwine.com; other resources are now available on a newly devel-oped ‘app’ for mobile devices, including:

Fact sheetsSeven-part video series

• Flickr photo library to help with visual identification of leaf-roll virus in the leaves of different red berry cultivars

• Ability to take a photograph of symptoms in the vineyard and send to the Virus Elimination Pro-ject team for verification

• New Zealand Winegrowers’ ‘Leafroll 3 app’ is free and available for downloading in New Zealand only. It can be accessed by search-ing for ‘Leafroll 3’ at iPhone and Android app stores.

Acknowledgements Funding was provided by New

Zealand Winegrowers, the Minis-try for Primary Industries Sustain-able Farming Fund (No. 12-073), the Gimblett Gravels Winegrow-ers Association and Wine Marlbor-ough. We gratefully acknowledge the support of the many vineyard owners and their staff. ■

Figure 2. Foliar symptoms of Grapevine leafroll-associated virus 3 in a Pinot noir vine, Hawke’s Bay, March 2014


The New Zealand Winegrowers “Mechanical Thinning” projects have revealed that shaking the vine with a machine harvester shortly after fruit set slows berry growth, reduces berry size at harvest and results in decreased botrytis bunch rot susceptibility. However, the mechanisms caus-ing these responses are not clear. We hypothesised that the slowing of berry growth was the result of transient water stress, induced by cavitations of the xylem vessels as a result of the shaking. The lower botrytis bunch rot may be caused by one (or more) of three mecha-nisms: reduced bunch trash, fewer compact bunches, and/or induced resistance to infection resulting from thicker skins and/or the pro-motion of elicitors in the berries.

Our objectives were to: 1) determine the influences that the degree and timing of vigor-ous shaking have on vine water relations and berry growth, and the extent to which this improves the grape berry’s tolerance to bot-rytis bunch rot; 2) investigate the extent to which leaf plucking and trash removal using a Collard™ leaf plucker may provide an alter-native means of reducing botrytis bunch rot severity.

MethodsThe trial was conducted over

two growing seasons (2012-13 and 2013-14). In 2013-14, the trial

was replicated six times on whole rows of Sauvignon Blanc vines on a vineyard in the Rarangi region of the Wairau Plains, Marlborough. Six treatments were used: two using full canopy machine thin-ning (heavy and light); two with trunk-only shaking (using the same settings as the heavy and light thinning, but without the canopy beaters); a Collard™ leaf plucker; and an unthinned con-trol. Machine thinning and leaf plucking were undertaken about three weeks after flowering on 2 January 2014, when average berry diameter was 7.3 mm. Machine thinning was undertaken using a Braud harvester. Machine set-tings were the same as in previ-ous seasons, with beater speeds of 450 and 375 beats per minute for the heavy and light settings and a ground speed of 4.4 km/h. The trunk-only settings had the canopy beaters removed. Details have been published earlier.

The vineyard was managed in accordance with New Zealand Sustainable Winegrowing prac-tices, with the northern half of the vineyard receiving the grower’s normal fungicide programme. To increase potential disease pres-sure, the southern end (the trial area) received a reduced fungicide programme and the usual Switch® application at bunch closure was not used.

Leaf water potential, stomatal

conductance and photosynthesis rates were measured in vines in the unthinned control and the heavy machine-thinned treat-ments shortly after treatments were applied and then two and four days later. Berry diameters (12 berries per plot) were measured before thinning treatments were applied and then twice weekly for two weeks, at which time three

bunches were harvested from the trunk (head) and mid-vines (cane) regions of vines. Bunches were taken to the laboratory two weeks after the treatments were imposed and again at harvest. Ber-ries were snipped from the rachis and berry volume distribution measured using the Dyostem™. The soluble solids concentration distribution of the berries was

Reduced berry size and Botrytis tolerance through trauma to the vine

Trought M1, Neal S1, Greven M1, Mundy D1, Raw V1, McLachlan A2

1 Plant & Food Research, Marlborough Wine Research Centre, Blenheim, 7201, New Zealand2 Plant & Food Research, Food Industry Science Centre, Palmerston North, 4474, New Zealand

12 – 106

Figure 1: Grape berries with a density less than the sugar solution float. These are scooped off the surface and are transferred to the next container, containing solutions at successively 1 oBrix lower concentrations.


also measured at harvest. The berries were density separated (after the volume distribution had been determined) by placing all the fruit in sugar solutions of sequentially (by 1 oBrix) decreasing sucrose solutions (Figures 1 and 2). The fruit in each solution were then weighed and the proportion of the population in each soluble solids concentration category was determined.

Botrytis bunch rot incidence and severity were assessed on four sub-plots on each of the six main plots of each treatment. Two of these sub-plots were selected from the north (sprayed) end of the trial row and two from the south (unsprayed) end. Botrytis inci-dence was determined by assessing the presence or absence of botrytis on 30 randomly selected bunches (15 on each side of the row), and severity by estimating the percent-age of infection in each bunch.

The laboratory botrytis suscep-tibility assessment was undertaken on the four extreme thinning treat-ments (control, heavy mechani-cal thinning, heavy trunk shaking, and Collard). Bunches were har-

vested and individual berries were removed from bunches and surface sterilised in 70% ethanol solution for one minute. Half the berries were then punctured by breaking the skin with a ster-ile needle. Each of the punctur-ing treatments was then further divided into two sub-samples, and one sub-sample inoculated with B. cinerea (1-5 x 104 spores per ml water) from mixed cultures pro-duced in the laboratory from field isolates collected from grapes. Thus, there were three treatment factors: thinning (control, heavy machine thin, heavy trunk thin and Collard), punctured (no, yes), and inoculation (no, yes), which pro-duced sixteen factorial treatment combinations. The berries from each laboratory treatment were placed together in groups of 10 on small trays for incubation; there were 10 trays (100 berries) for each replicate. After incubation, the dis-ease incidence was determined by assessing the presence or absence of botrytis on each berry under a dissecting microscope.

Twenty-five bunches of grapes were collected from each treat-

ment replicate (600 bunches in total). Each bunch was disas-sembled and the pieces of ‘trash’ counted and then separately incu-bated in a small plastic container with a moist paper towel in an air-conditioned laboratory set at 20ºC, to determine if there was B. cinerea present on the trash. The results for the 25 bunches from each rep-licate were averaged for analysis.

Results and DiscussionMeasurements of leaf water

potential, stomatal conduct-ance, net photosynthesis and leaf temperature were used after trauma treatments (shaking vines as described above) to test the hypothesis that “Reductions in berry growth and tolerance of berries to botrytis infection are the result of transient water stress induced by embolisms in the xylem vessels”. Trauma treatments failed to induce a measurable water stress response (in general, leaf water potential was higher and stomatal conductance lower). Despite this, shoot apices appar-ently became less turgid and for approximately 24 hours appeared to wilt. However, as in previous seasons berry growth rates were slowed by trauma treatments (Fig-ure 3).

Heavy machine thinning reduced the vine yield by 14% (Table 1), advancing soluble solids contents by approximately 1 oBrix at the day of harvest.

Titratable acidity and pH were unaffected.

The distribution of the soluble solids concentration in berries was unaffected by the thinning treat-ments (Figure 4).

Figure 2: Sequentially transferring grape berries to lower concentrations of sucrose solutions enables the soluble solids concentration distribution to be determined.

Days from January 1

0 5 10 15

Incr

ease

in b

erry

dia

met

er (m

m)

0.0

0.5

1.0

1.5

2.0

2.5

3.0

3.5Heavy MTLight MTHeavy trunk onlyLight trunk onlyCollardControlCollardHeavy MT

Figure 3: Influence of thinning treatments on berry growth of Sauvignon blanc vines. The initial (pre-thinning) berry diameter was used to normalise the data. Thinning occurred on 2 January 2014. For clarity, logistic curves are fitted to the heavy machine thinning (MT) and Collard treatments only. Vertical bars are LSD (P=0.05).

Soluble solids (oBrix)

14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28

Perc

enta

ge o

f the

sam

ple

(%)

0

20

40

60

80

100 Control Heavy MT Light MT heavy trunk only light trunk only Collard

Figure 4: Influence of thinning treatment on Sauvignon blanc berry soluble solids content distribution. Berries were density separated in a range (15 to 26) of sucrose solutions and weighed. Three parameter logistic curves were fitted to the data using SigmaPlot 12.5. Vertical bars are LSD (P=0.05). MT = machine thinning.


The botrytis bunch rot inci-dence and severity were exceed-ingly low in the 2012-13 season and treatments had no effect on bunch rot compared with that in the control. To increase the bot-rytis pressure in 2013-14, the trial

area did not receive a bunch-clo-sure Switch application and this enabled us to compare the trial area with a conventionally man-aged vineyard (which had received Switch). There was no significant difference in overall botrytis bunch

rot severity when the sprayed and unsprayed areas of the vineyard were compared (Table 2), and therefore data were pooled for overall comparisons of treatments (Table 2). The heavy and light machine thinning and heavy trunk thinning significantly reduced bot-rytis bunch rot severity compared with that in the unthinned control (Table 2). Results in other treat-ments (the light trunk thinned and Collard) were not significantly dif-ferent from the control.

Heavy machine thinning reduced trash in the bunches to 35% of the control, while the Col-lard and heavy trunk thinning-only treatments reduced trash to 69 and 60% of the control respectively (Table 2).

Laboratory assays, in which the ability of Botrytis cinerea to infect berries was compared, indicated that berries that had the trauma treatments were less vulnerable to infection (Figure 5), and may have a pre-formed resistance to B. cinerea infection. The mecha-nism providing this resistance (e.g. a chemical elicitor or change in skin thickness) still needs to be elucidated, but results indicate that trauma treatments, such as

machine thinning, which lead to a reduction in bunch trash and potentially to enhanced resistance by the berry to B. cinerea infection, provide a useful means of reducing botrytis bunch rot in the field.

ConclusionsWe conclude that the decrease

in botrytis bunch rot induced by machine thinning is the com-bined consequence of removal of trash from within the bunch and an increase in the tolerance of the berries to B. cinerea infection induced by the trauma associated with shaking the vines. The failure of Switch fungicide at bunch clo-sure to affect botrytis bunch rot severity possibly needs further investigation.

Key Outcomes:As in previous seasons, heavy

machine thinning used to induce trauma to grapevines reduced berry growth rates, but failed to induce a measurable water stress response (in general, leaf water potential was higher and stomatal conductance lower). Despite this, shoot apices apparently became less turgid and for approximately 24 hours appeared to wilt.

In 2013-14, heavy and light

Harvest analysis

Thinning treatment

Vine yield (kg)1

Soluble solids (0Brix)

Titratable Acidity

(g/L tartaric acid)

pH

Unthinned control

10.2 21.2a 10.4 2.96

Heavy machine

8.8 22.1b 10.6 2.99

Light machine

9.9 21.4ab 10.4 2.98

Heavy trunk

9.0 21.1a 10.2 2.98

Light trunk 10.4 21.1a 10.2 2.96

CollardTM 10.0 20.7a 10.3 2.96

Table 1: Influence of thinning treatment on Sauvignon blanc berry size and bunch weight (April 2014).

Days from January 1

0 5 10 15

Incr

ease

in b

erry

dia

met

er (m

m)

0.0

0.5

1.0

1.5

2.0

2.5

3.0

3.5Heavy MTLight MTHeavy trunk onlyLight trunk onlyCollardControlCollardHeavy MT

Figure 3: Influence of thinning treatments on berry growth of Sauvignon blanc vines. The initial (pre-thinning) berry diameter was used to normalise the data. Thinning occurred on 2 January 2014. For clarity, logistic curves are fitted to the heavy machine thinning (MT) and Collard treatments only. Vertical bars are LSD (P=0.05).

Soluble solids (oBrix)

14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28

Perc

enta

ge o

f the

sam

ple

(%)

0

20

40

60

80

100 Control Heavy MT Light MT heavy trunk only light trunk only Collard

Figure 4: Influence of thinning treatment on Sauvignon blanc berry soluble solids content distribution. Berries were density separated in a range (15 to 26) of sucrose solutions and weighed. Three parameter logistic curves were fitted to the data using SigmaPlot 12.5. Vertical bars are LSD (P=0.05). MT = machine thinning.

Botrytis severity (%)

Thinning treatment

Unsprayed Sprayed Average Bunch trash count / vine

Unthinned control

14.6 16.5 15.6c 165c

Heavy machine

8.9 10.8 9.8a 58a

Light machine

11.4 11.3 11.3ab -

Heavy trunk

13.0 11.5 12.2ab 98b

Light trunk 12.0 16.0 14.0bc -

CollardTM 14.1 10.8 12.5abc 114b

Table 2: Influence of thinning treatment and spraying on Sauvignon blanc botrytis bunch rot severity and bunch trash count, 2014 season.

Mean values in a column followed by the same letter are not significantly different (5% LSD).

12 berries were tagged on each plot before thinning and diameters measured twice before thinning and then for two weeks (on four occasions) post thinning and finally shortly before harvest. Data were collected shortly before harvest. Diameters of berries lost during the season were excluded from the data set.A 50-berry subsample was taken from each plot on the day of harvest for compositional analysis.1”Clean” bunches were harvested and weighed separately from those with >10% botryits bunch rot. The average bunch weight is that of the clean bunches. Vine yield is the product of the average weight of “clean” bunches and the total number of bunches per vine.Mean values in a column followed by the same letter are not significantly different (5% LSD).


machine thinning and heavy trunk thinning significantly reduced botrytis bunch rot severity compared with that in the unthinned control.

Results in other treatments (the light trunk thinned and Collard™) were not significantly different from the control.

Heavy machine thinning reduced trash in the bunches to 35% of the control, while the Collard and heavy trunk-only treatments reduced trash to 69 a n d 6 0 % o f t h e c o n t r o l respectively.

In this trial, the application of a Switch® at bunch closure did not reduce botrytis bunch rot severity when compared to unsprayed vines and possibly needs further

investigation. Laboratory assays, in which

the ability of Botrytis cinerea to infect berries was compared, indicated that berries that had the trauma treatments were less vulnerable to infection and may have a pre-formed resistance to B. cinerea infection. The mechanism providing this resistance (e.g. a chemical elicitor or change in skin thickness) still needs to be elucidated.

Results indicate that trauma treatments, such as machine thinning, which lead to a reduction in bunch trash and potentially to enhanced resistance by the berry to B. cinerea infection, provide a useful means of reducing botrytis bunch rot in the field.

AcknowledgmentsT h i s r e s e a r c h w a s

commissioned and funded by New Zealand Winegrowers (NZ12-106). The support is appreciated of Wither Hills Wines, who actively participated in the programme, providing staff, vineyards and machines for the trials.

Full details of these trials can be found in:

Trought M, Greven M, Neal S, Mundy D, Raw V, McLachlan A 2013. Reduced berry size and Botrytis tolerance through trauma to the vine NZW12-106: Annual Report 2013. 18 p.

Trought M, Greven M, Neal S, Mundy D, Raw V, McLachlan A 2014a. Reduced berry size and

Botrytis through trauma to the vine NZW12-106. Annual report 2013 Plant & Food Research. Report No. STPS 9379. 19 p.

Trought M, Neal S, Mundy D, Greven M, Raw V, McLachlan A 2014c. Reduced berry size and botrytis tolerance through trauma to the vine NZW12-106: Final report 2014. STPS No. 10851. Plant and Food Research, Auckland, Plant & Food Research Ltd. 28 p.

Trought M, Neal S, Mundy D, Grose C, Pineau B, Beresford M, McLachlan A, Albright A, Allen M 2014d. New opportunities for sustainable grape thinning (NZW11-101): Final report, June 2014 Plant & Food Research. Report No. STPS 10069. ■

Figure 5: Mean incidence (% presence in samples) of botrytis bunch rot infection in Sauvignon blanc grapes from vines given four thinning treatments, and berries given two inoculation (with Botrytis cinerea) treatments. Error bars are 95% confidence intervals.


What do we know?Based on the description of symp-tomatic vines by Bragato in 1902, there is little doubt that Grapevine leafroll disease (GLRD) has been present in and detrimental to New Zealand vineyards for more than 100 years. In 1970, Chamberlain conducted what is still the most thorough survey of viruses present in New Zealand grapevines. The survey was limited by the knowl-edge of grapevine viruses at the time, and the laborious methods for virus isolation and identifica-tion by graft inoculation to grape-vines and mechanical inoculation to herbaceous indicator plants. He concluded that, despite no natural vector being known at the time, GLRD and Grapevine fan-leaf virus (fanleaf ) were the most damaging viruses for the indus-try, because of poor management practices used (top-grafting). With the improved knowledge and better management practices, fanleaf is now almost eradicated from com-mercial vineyards. We know that the main contributor to GLRD is leafroll 3 (Grapevine leafroll-associated virus 3), spread by mealybug vectors, and that this is the most economically destructive virus to New Zealand vineyards and grapevines worldwide. Because of its adverse impacts, leafroll 3 has been the focus of much research in New Zealand over recent years.

In acknowledging the impor-tance of leafroll 3, we cannot over-look other viruses and the impact these might have on production and wine quality. Some viruses

present in New Zealand have serious impacts on grapevines overseas. For example, Grapevine corky bark was reported in New Zealand until 1986. It is an impor-tant disease associated with some strains of Grapevine virus B (GVB). Grapevine corky bark causes graft union disorders, with a degree of severity mainly influenced by the rootstock selection. Symptoms include delayed maturity, lower yield and in some cases vine death. Although GVB was reported by Dr Rod Bonfiglioli in 2006, no Grape-vine corky bark symptoms have been reported in New Zealand since 1986.

Furthermore, in 2003, Dr Bonfiglioli reported a new strain of leafroll 2 (Grapevine leafroll-associated virus 2) that caused graft incompatibility. A concern-ing aspect of his report is that this virus was apparently symptomless in some high-performing grape varieties and he concluded with the statement, “Obviously, the time has come for a full appraisal of the role of the GLRaV-2 group of viruses in high-performance viticulture”.

Viruses we don’t have and don’t want

Recently a virus was identi-fied in the USA causing the red-dening of the leaves. The virus was named Red blotch (Grapevine red blotch-associated virus). It is now thought that the virus may have been undetected for a long time, as the symptoms can be seen as leafroll 3. The impact of the virus

is similar to the one of leafroll 3 in California, with decrease of sugar accumulation and delayed ripen-ing. Red blotch can also reduce col-our in red grapes and their wine

(a decrease in the anthocyanin content). The virus can be trans-mitted by a leafhopper (in glass-house conditions), but there are still only few data about the rate of

the virus transmission. Red blotch has been found in most grape culti-vars (white, red, and table) across all the wine regions of the USA. (Figure 1).

Grapevine Pinot Gris virus was first described in 2012 in Italy. As its name implies, it was first iden-tified in Pinot Gris. It appears to be problematic on white culti-

Virus diversity in New Zealand grapevinesArnaud Blouin, Howard Ross and Robin MacDiarmid

Arnaud Blouin, a PhD candidate at the University of Auckland, is based at Plant & Food Research in Auckland, supervised by Dr Robin MacDiarmid and Dr Howard Ross.

This work is funded by New Zealand Winegrowers) with the Rod Bonfiglioli Memorial Scholarship and Plant & Food Research.

13 - 115

Figure 1: Symptoms caused by Red blotch. A. Cabernet franc infected with Red blotch. Remark the intense reddening of the veins B. Cabernet sauvignon infected with Red blotch. These symptoms are very similar to the one caused by infection from leafroll 3. Remark the reddening of the vein. Photographs courtesy of Dr. Monica L. Cooper (University of California).


vars (including Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay), but also Pinot Noir and table grapes. Some of the symptoms can be confused with the one caused by fanleaf, including the leaf chlorosis and deformation, stunting growth and low vigour, and irregular ripening of the berries. The grapeleaf blis-ter mite (Colomeurs vitis), a sus-pected vector, is common in New Zealand. In Italy, the virus appears to move at an alarming rate (this may just be a consequence of a bet-ter testing regime). The virus was

recently reported in Slovakia and in South Korea. (FIGURE 2)

Nepoviruses were common to New Zealand when Chamber-lain carried out his survey (1970) but have mostly been eradicated from commercial vineyards since then. Fortunately, the nematode vectoring these viruses (Xiphin-ema index) is absent from New Zealand soils. Some of the older plants may have survived with the virus, or the virus may have been transmitted by grafting. Symp-toms vary between viruses, but they include yellow mosaic, leaf distortion, and/or asymmetrical leaves. Sometime, infected plants can be bright yellow in spring. The main virus is fanleaf (Figure 3).

What do we want to learn? - Sequence diversity – ecological impact

Recent studies have revealed extreme sequence diversity amongst grapevine viruses.

In New Zealand, Dr Karmun Chooi showed that the different strains of leafroll 3 vary by more than 20% across their genome. In other countries, high sequence variability has been observed in most grapevine viruses includ-ing Rupestris stem pitting virus (Grapevine rupestris stem pit-ting-associated virus), leafroll 1 (Grapevine leafroll-associated virus 1), and leafroll 2.

Viruses (especially those with RNA genomes) have high muta-tion rates.

The vegetative propagation of the grapevine means that a virus can infect (multiply and mutate) the same host for hundreds of years.

The consequences of the virus’s genetic diversity on the grapevine are mostly unknown. In other crops we have observed that a small change in the genetic code can have spectacular conse-quences.

In tamarillo for example, less than 0.5% variation in the genome of Tamarillo mosaic virus is enough to make the difference between a healthy looking plant and one showing severe symptoms (Figure 4).

Plant virus research has so far focused on viruses that are harmful to their host.

This harmfulness is biased to what humans desire (good looking fruits or vegetables, no obvious symptoms, and a good yield).

Cucumber mosaic virus is a

common pathogen of vegetables responsible for a reduced yield and misshaped vegetables, making them unmarketable.

Recently, the virus was shown to confer drought and cold tolerance to the plant.

T h i s d e t r i m e n t a l v i r u s becomes beneficial under severe conditions.

Returning now to grapevine viruses, one of the main impacts of leafroll 3 on grapevines is the delayed maturity and uneven ripening of the bunch (especially in red cultivars).

B u t f r o m t h e p l a n t ’ s perspective, this phenotype allows birds to feed on the berries over a longer period, a possible advantageous feature for the dispersion of the seed.

Understanding the viruses that infect New Zealand grapes and their full, not just obviously human-centric, impacts on grapes may lead to prevention of new and debilitating grapevine diseases and new management control strategies of existing virus infections.

Figure 4: Tamarillo plants infected with two strains of Tamarillo mosaic virus sharing 99.5% of the genome. On the left, a plant infected with a severe strain showing stunted growth, necrosis on the cane and chlorosis of the leaves. On the right, a plant infected with a mild strain with no symptoms. Photograph Tim Holmes/ research project Sam Edwards.

Figure 2: Pinot gris leaf showing leaf distortion and chlorosis caused by Grapevine pinot gris virus. Photograph courtesy of Dr Claudio Ratti and Dr Roberta Beber (University of Bolonia).

Figure 3: A grapevine shot showing severe fanleaf symptoms. Photograph courtesy of Professor Giovanni Martelli (University of Bari).


Survey of New Zealand grapes : what tool to use, where to sample?

Research on plant virus diversity and ecology is in its infancy mainly because of the high cost of genetic sequencing to identify new virus isolates or species in individual plants. The current knowledge of the virus diversity in New Zealand grapevines is largely based on pioneering studies carried out 40 to 50 years ago; this knowledge needs to be re vised to be informative for the increasingly complex management needs of the national vineyard.

Most diagnostic tests available to detect grapevine viruses are targeted to specific known viruses and therefore do not reveal the full spectrum of viruses that are probably in our vineyards.

New technologies are now able to identify a plant virus and its genetic sequence without a priori knowledge of the host or pathogen. These techniques have proven to be very powerful but to date they have not been used for a large-scale survey. We need to assess the multiple options available, and adapt the techniques already published to

construct the most useful tool for virus detection in a large-scale survey of vineyards.

This project aims to develop a practical tool to sample, extract nucleic acid, sequence and identify viruses from grapevines by analysing each step, including the grapevine sample methods and timing, the nucleic acid choices and preparations, the sequencing platforms and providers, and the bioinformatic approaches and software. The robust, high throughput, and economic tool generated will subsequently be used to undertake a large survey of New Zealand grapevines.

The survey will include old vines originating from the Te Kauwhata Viticultural Research station. W he n working on this station, Bragato reported replacing unsuitable varieties with new ones by top-grafting. This action resulted in the accumulation of the viruses in the rootstocks and their spread thereafter to the new scions. The Te Kauwhata Viticultural Research station has been distributing vine cuttings since the late 1800s. The survey of these older vines from the collection and the older vines from commercial vineyards

will provide new insights into the extent of virus diversity in grapevines in New Zealand.

The second part of the survey will include any non-conforming vines (unusual phenotypes, or non-symptomatic vines within a heavily infected block), as well as identifying the causative agent(s) for any new disease outbreak.

As part of this research, you could help by contacting Arnaud Blouin ([email protected]) if you see any vines looking unusual.

In particular, some of the “harmful” viruses could include leaf distortion; leaf spots, leaf scorch or unusual leaf colouration (early yellowing or reddening, for example); extremely low vigour; unusual branching; uneven wood maturation on canes; early leaf drop; and/or graft incompatibility symptoms.

Why is it important?The development of a new

virus detection tool from this research will enable the New Zealand grape industry to respond rapidly and incisively should a disease causal agent with unusual symptoms be detected in any vineyard.

This ability to monitor actively is significant and timely as the industry prepares a Government Industry Agreements (GIA) on Biosecurity Readiness and Response.

The survey of the New Zealand vineyard will provide the industry with an in-depth and up-to-date record of the grapevine viruses and viroids in New Zealand. Based on reviews of the scientific literature, the risks associated with each microorganism will also be described.

As more virus variation is detected in many virus families, the new sequence data from the survey will be transferred to the scientific community by loading into the science web-based database GenBank. Doing so will help diagnostic laboratories to improve their testing methods in order to detect all known virus variants.

This research will also improve New Zealand’s capability in g r a p e v i n e v i r u s d e t e c t i o n and maintain the country’s high profile on the international stage in this important field which is rapidly progressing with the vast amount of new information flowing from an array of new technologies. ■

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