The wine industry in New Zealand has been in a bit of strife recently. Exports and sales of wines have been going swimmingly, but the people planting vineyards were a bit too enthusiastic, resulting in the supply:demand ratio, which has been very low for a long time, swinging above the 1:1 mark, beginning with the 2008 vintage.
The result? Prices for New Zealand's darling 1000-pound gorilla, Sauvignon blanc, have dropped this past vintage to less than half of what they were two years ago.
Bad news - yes! But it's not like it wasn't foreseen. New Zealand Winegrowers were telling the industry before the 2008 vintage that they should be cautious about planting more vineyards, as though exports were increasing (albeit taking a hit from the global economic crisis), they were about to be outstripped by new vineyards coming into production. Their predictions came true, only more so, because the vintage was bigger than pretty much anyone had guessed.
So NZ Winegrowers, on their yearly post-vintage summary seminar series around the country, spelled it out: There's too much wine in the tank, we don't need another big vintage (this would be made worse by the fact that another couple of thousand hectares of grapes planted in years prior were going to start bearing in the 2009 vintage). We need to work at the markets to sell the 2008 vintage, while still retaining the country's very high-value position in the market.
Others in industry saw the writing on the wall, and with NZ Winegrowers, suggested that people cut down their crops for 2009 in the most painless way possible: at pruning. Instead of leaving four canes on their Savvie vines, leave three, or better yet, two! This means that potential crops are lower, so there wouldn't be the need to spend money on dropping crop later.
Needless to say, not everyone took the advice, and though the industry managed, partly through less-than-ideal conditions at fruit set, to bring in a vintage that was just the same amount as in 2008, there was a high cost to growers, who 1) had paid people to lay down four, instead of two, canes at pruning, then 2) had to pay people to take off crop before harvest to meet the more-stringent terms of the contracts that they had signed with the wineries.
The contracts changed as a result of 2008, and for good reason. Previously, contracts had been arranged so that the winery would take all the fruit off of a vineyard - not so unusual when the demand outstrips supply. In 2008, there ended up being a lot more grapes in the vineyard than the wineries had counted on, meaning that they lacked to capacity to process it all quickly enough, and also lacked the tank space to keep it in afterward. However, many wineries took in all the fruit. However, after one vintage of that, and realising that the market wasn't going to soak up all that wine easily, they re-wrote the contracts to say that they would buy only up to a certain tonnage of grapes off the vineyard - anything beyond that, and they didn't _have_ to buy it.
This was much better for the winery, as they then could plan to take in as much as they had the capacity to process, store and sell. And, I have to say, it was much more realistic for the growers, as the market for their grapes was no longer a bottomless pit. No one should say that they weren't aware of what was going on! For years Sauvignon blanc was getting far more than a realistic price for what it was - there was definitely an imbalance there that was eventually going to be corrected.
However, these new conditions do make things harder for the grape growers. Now, instead of a gentleman's agreement as to how much was going to come off the block, there was a exact number that they needed to hit. This is far trickier for grapes that you might think (yield prediction is another whole series of blog posts!!).
So in 2009, many more growers realised that the old days are gone, and a new way of looking at grape production was a reality. And though the industry really did pull together and bring down the size of the 2009 harvest, there was still a lot of work to be done. Exports were still growing, but the size of the 2008 harvest meant that there was still wine from that vintage to be sold, and also a lot of 2009. The good news was that the '09 wines were really good - better than the '08s. The bad news was it was getting harder to sell the '08s when the better '09s were coming.
So the New Zealand wine industry entered into a market that it really wasn't all that familiar with - bulk wine sales. Large volumes of wine began to trade hands at very inexpensive prices. It was starting to allow the industry to catch up in terms of supply and demand, but it was also eroding at the hard-won high-value image that New Zealand wines had developed over the past couple of decades.
So that brings us to vintage 2010. Another critical year for the industry. Another 1500 hectares of grapes were coming into production over the 2009 vintage, yet there was still a lot of wine in tank. To continue helping the supply:demand mix, the industry, in this case this meant the growers, needed to tighten their belts and produce a crop even lower than in 2009!
NZ Winegrowers were at the forefront of this push, delivering the message in a number of venues that in order for the Marlborough Sauvignon blanc to retain its highly sought after position in the international marketplace, yields must be kept down.
And do you know what? It looks like the industry may have done it. The final numbers aren't in yet, but it looks like the vintage will be a significant amount lower than in 2009.
As someone connected to the NZ wine industry, that makes me feel very proud! To have an industry filled with the range of large to smaller scale growers actually pull together, despite the economic hardship, and make a dent in the national production of winegrapes is phenomenal.
And how was this done? It was through the efforts and sacrifices of many, yes, but at the start of it all was NZ Winegrowers. They were the ones who were taking the "big picture" view of national production and how it was fitting into the global markets. They are the ones that went out and promoted the message that the industry, as a whole, needed to hunker down and get serious, for the benefit of the industry as a whole. They are the ones who looked at export and production projections and said we need to hit this particular target in 2010.
The unified nature of NZ Winegrowers is, I am of the firm opinion, a major reason why the NZ wine industry has been so successful. Unlike in other countries, we have had a single body representing the national industry for many years - this has provided a unified message to the rest of the world about New Zealand wine. Its generic marketing has allowed for a Brand New Zealand to be cultivated, which benefits behemoth Pernod Ricard and the little guys, such as the wineries in the Family of Twelve.
So this is why I get a bit miffed when I see headlines like this:
"Winegrowers warned after complaints"
"Winegrowers ticked off by Commerce Commission"
The articles make it sound as though NZ Winegrowers have been coercing growers into dropping crop. From my point of view, which I hope is now very clear, NZ Winegrowers has been make a very convincing case of reasons to limit crop, and people have had ample evidence that NZ Winegrowers knows what it's talking about after the 2009 vintage. The group has been doing what is best for the industry as a whole. They certainly have not been forcing people to drop crop! It is to this industry's credit as a whole that reason has been listened to, despite the hardship, and growers have pulled together to get the industry back on track.
My congratulations, and thanks, go out to all those who have heeded the call, made the hard decisions, and hopefully, will reap the benefits as soon as possible.
Monday, June 14, 2010
Monday, May 24, 2010
GM vines out in the open? In France??!?!?
The French Government has approved the establishment of a vineyard planted to genetically modified grapevines (http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/content/view/35781/).
GM vines have existed for many years, but always in contained areas. This move by the government is very significant, as everyone who has been working on GM vines has held off taking them to the next step in terms of evaluation, waiting for the French to move first, the idea being, if they do it they've got the best chance of selling it to the industry and public, opening to door to everyone else.
I'll be watching this one very closely!!
GM vines have existed for many years, but always in contained areas. This move by the government is very significant, as everyone who has been working on GM vines has held off taking them to the next step in terms of evaluation, waiting for the French to move first, the idea being, if they do it they've got the best chance of selling it to the industry and public, opening to door to everyone else.
I'll be watching this one very closely!!
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Winter setting in
Winter weather has finally come to Canterbury! I don't know if I should be happy because it's been so late coming, sad because in means an end to the Indian Summer!
However, with the wintery weather should come more rain. This isn't really so needed for the grapevines, but for the other farmers out there, it's well past due! Most grapevines around here are entering dormancy, which is evident from their leaves falling off and the shoots going brown, as the periderm formation is completed.
The shoot tips may be green still, but with the first hard frost they will freeze and later fall off.
The dormant state is not necessary for normal grapevine growth, as if the weather was fine, the vines would continue growing. But, if you're looking to get synchronized crops so that the fruit can all be harvested at the same time, then having something to stop the current growth and then re-start it from the quiescent compound buds is needed.
The decreasing autumn temperatures are a signal for the vine to start getting ready for winter and freezing, or at least, not conducive to photosynthesis, temperatures. To do this, the vine breaks down as many compounds as it can in the leaves and transports them out into the shoots (now called the canes, since they've lost their leaves and the brown periderm has formed), trunk or roots.
The enzymatic powerhouses of the photosynthetic process (for example, Ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase oxygenase (or rubisco), which may be the most abundant protein on the planet) are broken down into their component parts, amino acids, which are transported out of the leaf and converted into more storage-friendly forms in more permanent parts of the vine. Similarly, the green coloured chlorophyll, which harvests the light used in photosynthesis is also scavenged for reuse.
When these compounds are taken away, it exposes other things in the leaves, which remain because they cannot be broken down again. This includes some nicely coloured compounds, such as anthocyanins. So when the leaves are scenescing, the green of the chlorophyll disappears to reveal the other colours, which can be brilliant reds and yellows.
This process happens in a lot of woody plants, which is what give some regions around the world their great autumn colours!
*(a.k.a Bahgha, Baga). Red-wine grape widely grown in the Bairada DOC, Beiras region of Portugal. It is apparently directly derived from an Aramon x Petit Bouschet cross. Has several synonym names including Tinta Fina, Tinta Bairrada and Tinta Poeirinha. In France it has the synonym name Grand Noir. In its Portuguese home region it accounts for the vast majority of planted vines. Very susceptible to mildew/fungus diseases, requiring heat and clay-rich soils to thrive. Produces acidic, tannic wine blends capable of ageing well; especially the "garrafeira" (special reserve) versions.
However, with the wintery weather should come more rain. This isn't really so needed for the grapevines, but for the other farmers out there, it's well past due! Most grapevines around here are entering dormancy, which is evident from their leaves falling off and the shoots going brown, as the periderm formation is completed.
Dormant canes. The red-brown periderm is a protective layer for the canes. The colour of the canes will vary from variety to variety, with some being lighter than others. Pinot Meunier, for example, has a quite reddish colour to its cane compared to Pinot noir or Pinot gris.
The shoot tips may be green still, but with the first hard frost they will freeze and later fall off.
The dormant state is not necessary for normal grapevine growth, as if the weather was fine, the vines would continue growing. But, if you're looking to get synchronized crops so that the fruit can all be harvested at the same time, then having something to stop the current growth and then re-start it from the quiescent compound buds is needed.
The decreasing autumn temperatures are a signal for the vine to start getting ready for winter and freezing, or at least, not conducive to photosynthesis, temperatures. To do this, the vine breaks down as many compounds as it can in the leaves and transports them out into the shoots (now called the canes, since they've lost their leaves and the brown periderm has formed), trunk or roots.
The enzymatic powerhouses of the photosynthetic process (for example, Ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase oxygenase (or rubisco), which may be the most abundant protein on the planet) are broken down into their component parts, amino acids, which are transported out of the leaf and converted into more storage-friendly forms in more permanent parts of the vine. Similarly, the green coloured chlorophyll, which harvests the light used in photosynthesis is also scavenged for reuse.
When these compounds are taken away, it exposes other things in the leaves, which remain because they cannot be broken down again. This includes some nicely coloured compounds, such as anthocyanins. So when the leaves are scenescing, the green of the chlorophyll disappears to reveal the other colours, which can be brilliant reds and yellows.
A photograph of the variety Grand Noir* near harvest. This variety is a tienturier type, which have berries that express red juice. The over-expression of anthocyanins carries through to the leaves as well, so they turn a bright red as the leaves scenesce.
This process happens in a lot of woody plants, which is what give some regions around the world their great autumn colours!
*(a.k.a Bahgha, Baga). Red-wine grape widely grown in the Bairada DOC, Beiras region of Portugal. It is apparently directly derived from an Aramon x Petit Bouschet cross. Has several synonym names including Tinta Fina, Tinta Bairrada and Tinta Poeirinha. In France it has the synonym name Grand Noir. In its Portuguese home region it accounts for the vast majority of planted vines. Very susceptible to mildew/fungus diseases, requiring heat and clay-rich soils to thrive. Produces acidic, tannic wine blends capable of ageing well; especially the "garrafeira" (special reserve) versions.
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Season is late, but nice weather hanging around!
Late season, yes, but it could be worse!
We've had a bit of an Indian Summer here, with a frost on April 10th, and then warm weather afterward.
While the season from September to January was miserably cool, with monthly temperatures being well below the long term average, February and March were slightly above average, and April is shaping up to be a decent month as well.
For those grapes that have kept their integrity through now, this is good news. We had 6mm of rain yesterday, but today was a nice warm and windy northwester, which has helped to dry out the clusters and should prevent an infection period for Botrytis from occurring.
There may be life yet in this difficult vintage for Canterbury!!
We've had a bit of an Indian Summer here, with a frost on April 10th, and then warm weather afterward.
While the season from September to January was miserably cool, with monthly temperatures being well below the long term average, February and March were slightly above average, and April is shaping up to be a decent month as well.
For those grapes that have kept their integrity through now, this is good news. We had 6mm of rain yesterday, but today was a nice warm and windy northwester, which has helped to dry out the clusters and should prevent an infection period for Botrytis from occurring.
There may be life yet in this difficult vintage for Canterbury!!
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Curing virused vines?
I've just read some exciting news in the December/January issue of New Zealand Winegrower (yes, I know it's taken me a while to get around to reading it!! :-)
Some work being done by doctoral student Elaine Chan, Mike Pearson of the University of Auckland and Robin MacDiarmid of Plant and Food Research (pages 80-82) suggests that it might be possible to cure vines of virus diseases, or at least, be able to prevent virus from spreading from the infection point.
Viruses such as Grapevine Leafroll are major issues to grapegrowers around the world, so the thought that this might be able to be done is pretty fantastic! At the moment, infected vines are pulled out and replaced, and in some cases, the vines next to the infected one are removed as well, to lessen the possibility it may spread.
If researchers can figure out how to get plants to ramp up a defense mechanism against viruses, much as animals do, then the implications for grapegrowers would be tremendous (perhaps both pro and con!).
The idea is to duplicate the action of a protein in animals that signals the presence of viral agents. That protein would tell the surrounding tissue to stop making proteins, which the virus needs in order to replicate itself and spread through the rest of the plant. If that was done, then the plant could use other means to stop the virus from spreading from the infection point, say, by a hypersensitive response, where the tissue immediately surrounding the infection point dies, thereby isolating the virus. This response is well known in the area of fungal infections, for example.
They are also mooting the possibility that a plant equivalent of interferon could be developed, which would stimulate the plant to produce more of these signalling proteins and therefore stop the virus in its tracks.
These are not new ideas (see this article "Is there a plant interferon?"), but it's interesting to see that people are looking at this from the standpoint of grapevines.
If, and it's still a big "if" at this point, this was able to be accomplished, vines would be able to stop infection before it started, and infected vines could be cleansed of existing infection. It remains to be seen if such a thing could be done with today's vines, or if new vines would need to be developed which have this capability.
As well, sometimes viruses can help to make better quality wine. The Mendoza clone of Chardonnay, for example, is thought to produce lots of the smaller berries it's well known for because it is infected with a mild strain of Leafroll virus. I'm sure there are other instances where the virus (or related "disease" organisms) may be holding back the natural vigour of vines, or changing the fruit morphology in some way that led to a clonal selection. Sometimes, you have to take the good with the bad!!
Some work being done by doctoral student Elaine Chan, Mike Pearson of the University of Auckland and Robin MacDiarmid of Plant and Food Research (pages 80-82) suggests that it might be possible to cure vines of virus diseases, or at least, be able to prevent virus from spreading from the infection point.
Viruses such as Grapevine Leafroll are major issues to grapegrowers around the world, so the thought that this might be able to be done is pretty fantastic! At the moment, infected vines are pulled out and replaced, and in some cases, the vines next to the infected one are removed as well, to lessen the possibility it may spread.
If researchers can figure out how to get plants to ramp up a defense mechanism against viruses, much as animals do, then the implications for grapegrowers would be tremendous (perhaps both pro and con!).
The idea is to duplicate the action of a protein in animals that signals the presence of viral agents. That protein would tell the surrounding tissue to stop making proteins, which the virus needs in order to replicate itself and spread through the rest of the plant. If that was done, then the plant could use other means to stop the virus from spreading from the infection point, say, by a hypersensitive response, where the tissue immediately surrounding the infection point dies, thereby isolating the virus. This response is well known in the area of fungal infections, for example.
They are also mooting the possibility that a plant equivalent of interferon could be developed, which would stimulate the plant to produce more of these signalling proteins and therefore stop the virus in its tracks.
These are not new ideas (see this article "Is there a plant interferon?"), but it's interesting to see that people are looking at this from the standpoint of grapevines.
If, and it's still a big "if" at this point, this was able to be accomplished, vines would be able to stop infection before it started, and infected vines could be cleansed of existing infection. It remains to be seen if such a thing could be done with today's vines, or if new vines would need to be developed which have this capability.
As well, sometimes viruses can help to make better quality wine. The Mendoza clone of Chardonnay, for example, is thought to produce lots of the smaller berries it's well known for because it is infected with a mild strain of Leafroll virus. I'm sure there are other instances where the virus (or related "disease" organisms) may be holding back the natural vigour of vines, or changing the fruit morphology in some way that led to a clonal selection. Sometimes, you have to take the good with the bad!!
Saturday, April 10, 2010
What's happening in Marlborough?
Just got back from a tour through Marlborough with the Lincoln University Viticulture I students!
And an eventful time to be going through and talking with a number of people in the industry, working in large and small outfits.
Overall, the prognosis is good for the industry, in that regional yields are looking to come in slightly below the predicted total, which means there won't be an additional lump of wine to try to sell over the coming year. The other news is that everyone is really happy with the quality of the fruit coming in - the season was pretty cool, but the last weeks of the season have been ideal, and this combined with the lower crop loads (some by the effects of nature at fruit set, but some also due to people keeping crop loads down). Good news indeed!!
The big boys were in the early phases of harvest (getting close to 50% about now), but some of the smaller outfits (Fromm, Staete Landt) were pretty much through!
I've more detailed info (in snippet form) at http://twitter.com/sabrosiavit
And an eventful time to be going through and talking with a number of people in the industry, working in large and small outfits.
Overall, the prognosis is good for the industry, in that regional yields are looking to come in slightly below the predicted total, which means there won't be an additional lump of wine to try to sell over the coming year. The other news is that everyone is really happy with the quality of the fruit coming in - the season was pretty cool, but the last weeks of the season have been ideal, and this combined with the lower crop loads (some by the effects of nature at fruit set, but some also due to people keeping crop loads down). Good news indeed!!
The big boys were in the early phases of harvest (getting close to 50% about now), but some of the smaller outfits (Fromm, Staete Landt) were pretty much through!
I've more detailed info (in snippet form) at http://twitter.com/sabrosiavit
Saturday, March 27, 2010
Post harvest activities
Well, harvest is done, the grapes have been pressed and the juice recently inoculated with yeast! The winemakers job has begun, but the viticulturists job continues!
I got out into the vineyard today to flush the irrigation system to ensure that the lines would be free of debris that could potentially clog the emitters. Once this is done, the vines got a nice six hour drink, at 1.2 litres per hour. This should be enough to wet the soil under the emitters to a good depth, and get water to the roots. The vines will now have access to plenty of water that should allow them to photosynthesise and store nutrients needed for next season's growth. Many leaves have yellowed by this point, but there are still lots of green leaves that can do useful work.
This is the first irrigation of the season, so in some ways, it is pretty unusual to have this happening after harvest!!
As well, I mowed the vineyard, which keeps walking down the rows pleasant, especially if you're doing it early in the morning or after a bit of rain.
If we're lucky, there will be another month and a half of useful photosynthesis going on. As temperatures fall in the late part of the season, the vines take this as a signal to get ready for winter, drop their leaves, and harden off the shoots. They become a lot less green and the shoots develop a brown periderm, which protects them from low temperatures and otherwise harsh conditions. Once the leaves have fallen off, we will call the shoots canes instead!
I got out into the vineyard today to flush the irrigation system to ensure that the lines would be free of debris that could potentially clog the emitters. Once this is done, the vines got a nice six hour drink, at 1.2 litres per hour. This should be enough to wet the soil under the emitters to a good depth, and get water to the roots. The vines will now have access to plenty of water that should allow them to photosynthesise and store nutrients needed for next season's growth. Many leaves have yellowed by this point, but there are still lots of green leaves that can do useful work.
This is the first irrigation of the season, so in some ways, it is pretty unusual to have this happening after harvest!!
As well, I mowed the vineyard, which keeps walking down the rows pleasant, especially if you're doing it early in the morning or after a bit of rain.
If we're lucky, there will be another month and a half of useful photosynthesis going on. As temperatures fall in the late part of the season, the vines take this as a signal to get ready for winter, drop their leaves, and harden off the shoots. They become a lot less green and the shoots develop a brown periderm, which protects them from low temperatures and otherwise harsh conditions. Once the leaves have fallen off, we will call the shoots canes instead!
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