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A Technical Guide for Wine Producers
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Visit to Australia: General impressions
Marina Bruwer, Namaqua Wines & Jeff Joubert, VinPro
In January 2009 a study tour to Southern Australia was undertaken by Marina Bruwer of Namaqua Wines, Vredendal and Jeff Joubert of VinPro. The objective of the trip was to observe management practices in respect of irrigation and crop loads in particular shortly before the harvest, with a view to increased yields while retaining quality. Various areas in South Australia, viz. Langhorne Creek, McLaren Vale, Riverlands, Barossa, Eden Valley and Clare Valley, were visited over a period of seven work days. It stands to reason that reporting about observations is not in-depth.
It is common knowledge in the Australian wine industry that Australia may lose 20% of its yield before the balance between supply and demand is restored. This represents approximately 400 000 tons of grapes, which equals the total grape production of the Riverlands. Chardonnay is the least popular cultivar - too many plantings and low prices paid by cellars; both "moth balling" and closing the tap on Chardonnay plantings was observed (Photo 1). Australia is the driest inhabited continent and the population numbers only 21 million people. 40% of the population is concentrated in two cities, namely Sydney and Melbourne. Only Antarctica has less water than Australia. Efficient utilisation of this scarce resource is therefore a priority and if at all economically justified, purified waste-water is used for irrigation (Photo 2).
The "politics" surrounding water and the control thereof dominate the entire Australian wine industry.
In the cooler regions where wine is produced at higher price points, e.g. McLaren Vale and Clare Valley, VSP (vertical shoot positioning) is used and in the warmer regions such as Riverlands and Langhorne Creek as much mechanisation as possible takes place because production cost is too high and does not justify the input. Riverlands is hampered by a stigma which makes it difficult for them to market wines at higher price points. The intention is to produce part of their crop for the higher price points in order to rid themselves of this stigma.
Various methods of mechanical pruning are used and adjusted according to the cultivar. Box pruning, barrel pruning and minimum pruning occur. The number of buds per vine is subject to rigorous control. Harvesters are mainly tractor-drawn models. These harvesters are often used for other activities such as pruning and spraying (Photos 3 & 4).
Where mechanical pruning takes place, irrigation management is crucial. Vigour is controlled through irrigation, which also brings about balance between canopy and yield. The general guideline is that the canopy should be 90% developed at set. From then onwards moisture control is implemented to manage the berry size and arrest growth before veraison. At veraison ripening of the canes is complete. These notwithstanding good yields are nevertheless obtained.
A "green" approach to the environment and all related matters prevails in all the regions. This includes: water savings and the recycling of reclaimed water, effective use of run-off from cellars, mulching in vineyards, adhering to IPW guidelines for spraying and the storage of agrochemicals, and biodynamic as well as organic cultivation of grapes. This approach forms part of the marketing strategies at all the cellars. The best example is Constellation Wines’ Banrock Station. Another new development is the planting of Eucalyptus trees by contractors and funded by large enterprises such as Quantas to earn carbon credits. These credits are then divided pro rata among the owner of the land, the contractor who does the work and the organisation which provides the capital.
Widespread use is made of grafting (Photos 5a & b) to convert uneconomical vineyards to other cultivars. In general soil preparation (when it occurs) entails ripping of the vineyard row only in the section where the vines will be planted. Only the top part of the soil surface, approximately 60 cm, is used. The calcareous layer is not broken. At the moment the vines are mostly scions, but the newer plantings make use of rootstocks, the most important being Ramsey. Drip irrigation is the most common. Soil moisture measurement is omnipresent and used, in conjunction with visual observation, for moisture management of vineyards.
A 3 mm cordon wire is widespread (this is thicker than our wires). Weed control is extremely good and viticulturists are very strict about it. Weed control is largely mechanical and "Basta" is mostly used for chemical control of weeds. Vines are generally older than in South Africa and in a few places Shiraz vines older than 100+ years were observed (Photo 6). The life expectancy of vines in South Australia is approximately 25 - 30 years (older than here).
Machinery such as tractors and sprayers are large (Photo 7) and consequently the row width is mostly 3 m and wider, the narrowest being 2.75 m.
The wine industry is very safety conscious and personnel in the vineyards and cellars have to wear brightly coloured clothing, as well as protective clothes against the sun.
Of the cellars visited, many are not under cover and make use of insulated tanks with cooling.
Aster Yellows (in South Africa) is more virulent than the Australian Grapevine Yellows (AGY) and Aster Yellows poses a bigger threat to South African viticulture than AGY to the Australian wine industry.
Labour is very expensive, approximately 22 AUD/hour, but the labourers are all schooled and some have further education. On a typical grape farm, the work is done mainly by the producer and his wife.
The time of pressing is mostly determined by bunch samples. In Australia contract harvesters are employed and these people sometimes do all the other work in the vineyard, such as weed control, disease control, etc.
Barossa Valley, Clare Valley and Langhorne Creek are the "older" wine regions in Australia. The Riverlands is among the younger regions and the very latest are situated in the Fleurieu Peninsula, e.g. McLaren Vale and Victor Harbor.
At all the cellar doors visited one has the opportunity to belong to the winery’s wine club. Information about the winery and new releases are disseminated by email and the client can order wines in the same way.
Communication between winemakers and viticulturists is poor in the Australian wine industry. The importance of collaboration between these two sections is now recognised and the relationship is receiving attention. Viticulturists are trained as viticulturists and winemakers as winemakers - the one has little or no knowledge of the other’s field of expertise. At several cellars we posed a simple viticultural question to the winery staff and the answer was that they do not get into the vineyards, these being the domain of the viticulturists.
The lasting impressions of our visit to Australia are the order and efficient systems, the expertise regarding the regulation of growth and bearing through irrigation and the exceptional work ethic in the absence of so-called cheap manual labour.
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