DECEMBER 2023
SPEAKING VOLUMES
GLOBAL WINE TRADE
Vintage ready
BULKS UP
Prepping equipment ahead of harvest
REPUTATION REHAB FOR PACKAGING ALTERNATIVES
2023 ANNUAL THEME: INNOVATION | ISSUE THEME: VINTAGE PREPARATION
contents December 2023
ISSUE 719
THE AUSTRALIAN & NEW ZEALAND GRAPEGROWER & WINEMAKER
DECEMBER 2023
SPEAKING VOLUMES
GLOBAL WINE TRADE
DECEMBER
Vintage ready
BULKS UP
Prepping equipment ahead of harvest
2023
REPUTATION REHAB FOR PACKAGING ALTERNATIVES
2023 ANNUAL THEME: INNOVATION | ISSUE THEME: VINTAGE PREPARATION
Cover: In the December issue of Grapegrower & Winemaker we gear up for vintage, examining team-building, developments in smoke research and sustainable packaging alternatives. On the cover is Luke Joliffe, winemaker at Stella Bella.
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REGULARS 7
Winetitles insights
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In this issue
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What’s online
International briefs
MY VIEW How might the Australian wine sector respond to cancer scares?
NEWS 9
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MY VIEW The future of wine
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AWRI: Annual report
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R&D at Work
Producer Profile: James Freckleton Looking Back Calendar
Marketplace classifieds
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Sam Wigan appointed Hill-Smith Family Estates’ head of winemaking Tasmanian wine wins Great Australian Shiraz Challenge for second year in a row
Youngest ever winner of NZ Winemaker of the Year Lowestoft Estate Wines takes out Jimmy Watson Trophy at Melbourne Royal Wine Awards Wine Industry champion Alistair Purbrick wins Legend of the Vine Award Record visitation to Tasmanian cellar doors
SPECIAL FEATURE Grapegrower & Winemaker: 60 years and still going strong
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GRAPEGROWING 34
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FEATURE Smooth operators: gearing up for vintage fever
WINEMAKING 54
FEATURE Pouring over the data
FEATURE Unifying the team
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Recent smoke research and what it means for industry
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Behind the Top Drops: Stella Bella Luminosa Chardonnay
Australian Vintage secures Sustainable Winegrowing Australia certification
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What’s next for fertiliser supplies?
Finding what works in the vineyard
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FEATURE Grouse tips revisited: Best practice for pre-vintage winery machinery maintenance
Commercial winemakers’ group seeks formal recognition
December 2023 – Issue 719
news
Alister Purbrick in Tahbilk’s underground cellar built in 1860
Wine Industry champion Alister Purbrick wins Legend of the Vine Award Alister Purbrick was named the Victorian Legend of the Vine in front of a large crowd of his wine industry associates and colleagues at the Melbourne Royal Wine Awards in November.
The award recognises Purbrick’s outstanding and lasting contribution to the industry. Purbrick’s career spans many years and many roles, including as the president of the Winemakers Federation (1999-2001, now called Australian Grape & Wine), being the inaugural chairman of Australia’s First Family of Wines (2006-10) and being
presented the Len Evans Wine Industry Leadership Award in 2012. Purbrick has been chief executive of his family owned wine business, Tahbilk Group, since 1978 and only stepped down as the CEO last year.
to organisations like Australian Grape & Wine shows his true passion and dedication to Australia’s Wine industry. Alister is well known throughout the industry and today’s award will be celebrated across the country.”
National WCA executive chairman Angus Barnes applauded Purbrick’s career.
Purbrick is the seventh person to be awarded Legend of the Vine status in Victoria, and the first since 2019, joining a prestigious national list that includes Ross Brown, Jeni Port, Brian Croser AO, Pam Dunsford, Tony Love, Brian Walsh, the late d’Arry Osborne and Steve Flamsteed.
“Alister has played an integral role in the Australian wine industry for so many years. He has helped shape the industry at many different levels and the fact that he continues to give his time
The wine industry’s home site winetitles.com.au
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December 2023 – Issue 719
60 YEARS
This month marks a significant milestone for this publication. Started as the humble eight-page magazine The Australian Grapegrower in December 1963, it has grown to become a mainstay of the grape and wine sector. In its six decades it has been a witness to the evolution of this dynamic industry, covering all of its highs and lows along the way. It has chronicled the sector’s many changes, improvements, opportunities, and occasional setbacks, as technology, production methods and market demands have morphed and guided it forward through the years. As it celebrates 60 years of continuous publication – and as a ‘constant companion’ to industry professionals – the Australian & New Zealand Grapegrower & Winemaker continues to fulfil its mission of informing the industry of important news and trends, and providing practical solutions to those operating grape and wine businesses.
First 8-page issue of The Australian Grapegrower
…and still going strong! December – Issue 719
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Grapegrower & Winemaker
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grapegrowing
Vintage Equipment & Preparation
Smooth operators: gearing up for vintage fever
Handpicking at Pernod Ricard
As vineyard operators gear up for the 2024 harvest season, it is a good time to examine the well-oiled vintage machine and ensure that all is running smoothly, as journalist Meg Riley explores.
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he combination of long hours, high temperatures and time pressure during vintage is rife with risk, and as many vineyard workers know the motions inside out, the danger of complacency is not to be understated. With the prospect of hot and dry El Niño conditions looming, vineyards are bracing for exacerbated risks, making preparations ahead of time to equip themselves for a safe vintage.
heightened use of heavy equipment such as harvesters, tractors, ATVs and netting devices. Whether operating or working alongside these machines it is important not to lose vigilance or prioritise results over workers.
everyone participates in an induction before commencing work,” Richards advised. “The induction should include a risk assessment. Take a walk around the workplace to identify hazards and talk through risk mitigation strategies.”
When it comes to mitigating the risks of working with heavy equipment, Farmsafe Australia chair Felicity Richards underlined the importance of frequent inductions, even for vintage veterans.
Dorota Clausen, sustainability manager at Pernod Ricard Australia, cited heavy machinery as one of the company’s main concerns leading into vintage 2024.
Vineyard work is physically and mentally demanding, and vintage calls for the
“Regardless of how many times people have participated in a harvest, ensure
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“Our biggest concern is the interaction between workers and machinery, which can be anything from trucks and December 2023 – Issue 719
winemaking
Winery Equipment
Grouse tips revisited
What are the best practices for pre-vintage winery machinery maintenance?
Five years ago, consultant mechanical engineer Ian Jeffery provided this publication with his ‘Grouse tips for maintaining winery machinery’ (issue 648, 2018). Now in 2023 he revisits the topic to update producers on what’s needed to keep equipment functioning properly and whirring along at full capacity. His new tips for economically-sustainable winemaking are based on research in the area and include a few ideas from ‘left of field’.
Failure rates are likely to be higher for equipment start-ups at the beginning of vintage following pre-vintage maintenance.
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nnovative leading edge maintenance: what’s in it for you and your winery?
Firstly, there’s increased winery equipment availability, hence increased productivity and profitability. Secondly, there’s a reduction in your winery maintenance costs of between 20-30%, dependent on the ‘quality’ of your existing maintenance ‘efforts’. Lastly, there is also potentially improved wine quality.
The ‘elephant in the WINERY’ My hypothesis is that the ‘elephant in the winery’ is equipment infant mortality failures (IMF). Research (Nowlan and Heap 1978²; Moubray 1991³) indicates that 89% of failures are random, and 68% of failures are infant mortality. Electronic equipment, hydraulics and pneumatics are all prone to infant mortality failure and all are common in vineyards, wineries and winery bottling halls. 58
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Infant mortality failures are a large challenge in wineries and a lesser challenge in vineyards and bottling halls. These are likely to be more challenging in smaller specialist wineries with, say, a four-week vintage compared to larger wineries with, say, a 12-week vintage intake. Figure 1 details the ‘Six Patterns of Failure’ from Nowlan and Heap’s pivotal 1978 report to the United States Secretary of Defence².
‘Grouse tips’ These is not a few ‘grouse tips’ for previntage maintenance but a suggested paradigm shift and a whole order of magnitude maintenance improvement for most Australian Wineries Suggested long-term ‘grouse tips’ are to: 1. Train your team in current maintenance best practices (TRAIN not ‘half train’ them). www.winetitles.com.au
2. Implement condition monitoring (oil sampling, vibration analysis, thermography (under $10,000 in instruments, $2,000-$3,000 per year expenditure). 3. Purchase a CMMS (computerised maintenance management system) costing under $30,000. It needs to be user friendly, designed by tradesmen and engineers for use by tradesmen and engineers. If it is not user friendly, mark my words it will be neglected and not used properly. Buy Australian. 4. Undertake ‘streamlined RCM’ (reliability centered maintenance) which is a one person job. Hire or train a tradesperson to do this work plus full time maintenance planning. Implement a LEAN programme, either in parallel with steps 1 to 4 above, or following on after 1 to 4 implementation. This is dependent on your maintenance team’s competence and performance. December 2023 – Issue 719
business & technology
Treasury Wine Estates CEO Tim Ford and Treasury Americas president Ben Dollard
TWE acquires fastest-growing luxury wine brand in the US, Daou Vineyards
California acquisition is set to transform Treasury Wine Estates’ business to cement its position as a global luxury wine leader.
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reasury Wine Estates (TWE) has announced it is acquiring leading luxury US wine business, Daou Vineyards, for an upfront consideration of US$900 million (AU$1.39 billion), plus an additional earn-out of up to US$100 million (AU$154.3m).
Accelerating TWE’s luxury growth strategy The US is the world’s largest luxury wine market, valued at US$4 billion (AU$6.17 billion). Luxury wine is the fastest growing segment in the US market and Daou is a strong complement to TWE’s existing portfolio in upperluxury price points. The acquisition fills a key portfolio opportunity for Treasury 82
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Americas in the US$20-$40 range, as well as strengthens its luxury portfolio in the US$40+ range. The acquisition will strengthen Treasury America’s position as a leading and iconic US luxury wine business, increasing its presence with both wholesale and retail channel accounts and leveraging the strength of its luxury footprint to drive expansion across the US with plans to launch a Napa-sourced brand tier. TWE plans to take Daou to the world, bringing its global marketing and distribution expertise to their exceptional portfolio with the vision of becoming the next globally scaled luxury wine brand. Combined with Daou’s strong consumer www.winetitles.com.au
experience, TWE plans to reach new international markets for luxury wine as well as exploring opportunities outside the US as part of its ongoing global sourcing strategy.
Fastest growing luxury wine brand in the US Founded in 2007 by brothers and co-proprietors Georges and Daniel Daou and based in the world-renowned winemaking region of Paso Robles, California, Daou is the fastest growing luxury wine brand in the US trade over the past year and is recognised for its award-winning ‘ultra-luxury’ Cabernet Sauvignon-based Patrimony wines and benchmark-setting luxury experiences. December 2023 – Issue 719