By Casey Neill
The Australian Wine Research Institute shared the latest research in viticulture and winemaking at a recent Yarra Valley seminar.
Yarra Valley Racing Club hosted the AWRI event on 30 January.
Senior oenologist Matt Holdstock said it was part of the institute’s roadshow program, funded by Wine Australia.
“We go out to different regions around Australia and we present different points about science and technical aspects of winemaking,” he said.
About 25 people attended the seminar and workshop.
“That shows good support from the region,” Mr Holdstock said.
The day’s topics included getting the most out of planting material, rootstock development for the Australian wine industry, protecting vineyards from climate change, and the causes and management of slow and stuck fermentations.
“It’s keeping people up to date with the latest research in viticulture and winemaking,” he said.
“We try to give a practical aspect for them to take away and implement to make life easier, save money or improve the quality of their wine.
“Some of it’s also about future direction of what we’re going.
“One of the talks was on future rootstocks being bread through CSIRO.”
Attendees also heard about white wine texture, particularly the interactive effects of phenolics, polysaccharides, acidity and alcohol, and tasted cabernet sauvignon trial.
Mr Holdstock said the audience was about a 50-50 split of viticulturists and winemakers.
He said the AWRI schedules 20 minute presentations followed by question time.
“Having that interaction is really important,” he said.
He said they could be back in the Yarra Valley in the next 12 months.
“This program gets taken out to all wine regions around Australia,” he said.
“We try and get to the same region within a two-year period.”
