Research Programmes
The wine industry has four major programmes under way and more in the pipeline. Each of these programmes comprise multiple projects and research partners, over several years.
Sauvignon Blanc Grapevine Improvement Programme
The Opportunity: The vast majority of our Sauvignon Blanc vines are genetically identical. This means that a new pest, disease or environmental change that affects one Sauvignon Blanc vine in New Zealand could affect every one of them. If we had a large, diverse collection of our premier Sauvignon Blanc plants available, we could choose from them whenever we needed, selecting appropriate traits to respond to a changing environment, market opportunities and biosecurity threats.
Our Response: Bragato Research Institute has designed an accelerated 7-year research programme that will apply modern knowledge to produce and select a huge range of new diversity in Sauvignon Blanc. Our goal is to rapidly create up to 20,000 entirely new variants of New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc, and then screen them to identify plants that exhibit useful traits selected by industry.
The aim is to make our industry more resilient. The programme seeks to develop new grapevines with traits such as improved yield, more tolerance of fungal attack, frost, high temperatures and drought, and which either maintain the characteristic Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc wine flavour and aroma, or offer new opportunities to expand sales of novel Sauvignon Blanc styles.
New vines will be produced by accelerating a natural system plants have that triggers new diversification in response to environmental stress. Since this doesn’t involve crossings with other vines, the plants are still Sauvignon Blanc, and the new variants are fully formed at the first generation. Using latest-generation DNA sequencing technology, we can study the rates at which the vines change in response to stress, and exactly what DNA changes have occurred, even before the plants are mature enough to express those changes as new traits. Plants with promising new traits will be observed in vineyard trials towards the end of the 7-year programme.
By the end of the 7-year project, the aim is to have selected new variants with improved traits, which can be grown in bulk by nurseries in time for future Sauvignon Blanc replanting. Critically, these will all still be NZ Sauvignon Blanc vines – just new, improved variants of our existing premium clone. The thousands of new variants will also form a valuable pool of genetic diversity for the future. The existence of a such a library of genetic diversity will act as a resource for tackling future risks from climate, pests, disease and changing markets.
It is the industry’s largest-ever research programme. The programme will involve a total investment of $18.7 million over 7 years. New Zealand Winegrowers has committed up to $6 million in levy funds; the Ministry for Primary Industries is funding $7.5 million; more than 20 wine industry members are directly funding at least $2 million, and an additional estimated $3.2 million in-kind contributions.
The Sauvignon Blanc Grapevine Improvement Programme is funded by the Ministry for Primary Industries’ Sustainable Food and Fibre Futures fund, New Zealand Winegrowers via the industry levy, and the following industry participants:
- Platinum participants: Constellation Brands, Indevin.
- Gold participants: Cloudy Bay, Delegat, Lion, Loveblock, Marisco, Pernod Ricard Winemakers, Viticulture Nursery Association.
- Silver participants: Accolade Wines, Babich, Dog Point Vineyards, Endeavour Group, Forrest, Framingham, Giesen, Kono, Marlborough Grape Growers Cooperative, Mission Estate, Mufaletta, Nautilus, te Pa, Treasury Wine Estates, R.Morrison, Waimarie and Whitehaven.
If you are a research organisation interested in accessing the Oxford Nanopore PromethION sequencer, more information is available here.
What’s the programme called?
For official purposes it’s called the Sauvignon Blanc Grapevine Improvement Programme. Participants will help us shape a shorter, more commercial name and branding for the programme.
What will the programme cost?
The programme has a total cost of $18.7 million over 7 years. New Zealand Winegrowers has committed up to $6 million in levy funds; the Ministry for Primary Industries is funding $7.5 million; more than 20 wine industry members are directly funding at least $2 million, and an additional estimated $3.2 million in-kind contributions.
How long will it take before growers can buy new vines?
By the end of the 7-year project, the aim is to have identified new variants that offer advantages over the current material available to growers, as demonstrated in field trials. We will be working with contributing members, including the NZ Viticulture Nursery Association (ViNA), to ensure that the new variants are compatible with current propagation and grafting systems so that they can then be bulked up and made available for commercial plantings.
Why Sauvignon Blanc? What about the other varietals grown in New Zealand?
To date, New Zealand research in this area has mostly focused on Pinot Noir. Researchers know more about Pinot Noir genetics than we do Sauvignon Blanc in New Zealand. With Sauvignon Blanc accounting for 87% of our export value, the research is being re-directed to Sauvignon Blanc as the low diversity presents pronounced risks to our industry. Additionally, a grapevine has about 30,000 genes and we only understand the function of about 10% of them. What we learn about Sauvignon Blanc can be further applied to other varietals that share these genes, speeding up future improvements.
Why now?
Today, the lack of genetic diversity in our vineyards is a risk. Any environmental threat could do significant damage to the wine industry. New Zealand’s grape growers are increasingly asking questions about the productive and optimum lifecycle of their current variants. Over the next two decades, many Sauvignon Blanc growers will be looking to re-plant their vineyards. This project will enable them to choose local vines that are inherently more sustainable, and better suited to the challenges and opportunities on the near horizon for our winegrowing regions and export markets. Continuing to produce quality wines under future conditions will depend on the availability of vines suited to those conditions.
How are you producing new Sauvignon blanc variants in 7 years?
Traditional grapevine breeding requires multiple generations of crossing to recover traits associated with premium quality wine after a new trait is introduced. That process can take two to three decades, and the resulting plants are a different variety from the parent plants.
In the current programme new vines will be produced by accelerating a natural system plants have that triggers new diversification in response to environmental stress. Since this doesn’t involve crossings with other vines, the plants are still Sauvignon Blanc, and the new variants are fully formed at the first generation.
Using latest-generation DNA sequencing technology, we can study the rates at which the vines change in response to stress, and exactly where in the DNA these changes have occurred, even before the plants are mature enough to express the new traits. Plants with promising new traits will be observed in vineyard trials towards the end of the 7-year programme.
Has this been tested? What’s the science behind it?
New Zealand researchers have already tested this research with Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.
Will the new vines be considered GMOs?
No. The programme has been specifically designed make use of grapevine’s natural ability to increase its own diversity. No foreign introduction of DNA or gene editing is involved, so the vines will be GMO-free.
Why can’t we use traditional breeding?
Many overseas countries have been breeding grapevines for decades – crossing species and varieties to create disease resistant plants that make high-quality wine. That results in new varieties, which in the case of Old World producers, can be incorporated into regional classifications. Much of our success rests on our ability to sell distinctive New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc, and so we are pursuing an approach to select improved traits within this variety.
What traits are we breeding for?
The initial focus is on selecting vines with improvements in fungal pathogen resistance, drought tolerance, frost resistance, temperature adaptations, and flavour and aroma compounds in the berries. Like evolution, the approach we use depends on selecting improvements from a large pool of new diversity. This gives us the opportunity to keep selecting new traits from the same gene pool. It also means we have a ‘library’ of adaptations to consider if other threats arrive.
Can’t NZ import new Sauvignon Blanc diversity?
The only way to know how well vines will perform in NZ is to grow them here. Strict biosecurity controls mean that it is not possible to import large collections of diversity, all of which have been produced for overseas conditions. Instead, our plan is to start with the vines that already perform so well in NZ and develop new selections from these. The result of this programme will be the first new variants selected in NZ, specifically for the NZ industry.
Lighter Wines: Diversification and new wine styles
Objective: Position New Zealand as the world leader for high-quality, naturally grown lower-alcohol wines. The programme started in 2014 and runs to December 2020.
Total Funding: $16.97m, comprising $8.84m from industry levies and participating companies and $8.13m from Ministry for Primary Industries’ Primary Growth Partnership (PGP).
Research: Health and wellness consumer trends are not only in clear alignment with the NZ Lighter Wines Programme but look set to continue far beyond its conclusion at the end of 2020. The lower-alcohol wines developed via the New Zealand Winegrowers/PGP research partnership represent a new product category, one that can already be celebrated for market leadership and critical acclaim.
Participating companies now offer 45 products in the no, low, and lower-alcohol niche. Export sales increased by 57% in the year to May 2020, reaching $8.8 million, while annual domestic sales held their own at $31.4 million.
As a result of the R&D investment, NZ Lighter Wines deliver premium, full-flavoured wines that frequently win awards in open-class wine competitions. In the past 12 months, there have been 50 new export trade listings, primarily in Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom. Internationally, New Zealand is now considered the world leader in this rapidly developing wine category.
For more information on the Lighter Wines Programme, click here to visit the members’ login area of the New Zealand Winegrowers’ website. More information is also found on the NZ Lighter Wines website.
Vineyard Ecosystems: Pest and disease, sustainability
General Introduction
The Vineyard Ecosystems (VE) Programme is a multi-year partnership (2015–2022) between New Zealand Winegrowers (NZW) and the Ministry for Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) that is managed through the Bragato Research Institute (BRI). The programme is intended to increase the long-term resilience and profitability of the New Zealand wine industry by developing new research-based approaches to pest and disease management that will result in significant increases in vine longevity. The New Zealand Institute for Plant and Food Research Limited (PFR) and the University of Auckland (UoA) are the main research providers additional research providers include Thoughtful viticulture, Linnaeus Laboratories, South Australian Research and Development Institute, and Intecrop Ltd.
The cornerstone VE Programme has three interconnected Research Aims (RA):
RA 1.1: The vineyard as an ecosystem
RA 1.2: Relating under-vine management, biota and leafroll virus
RA 1.3: Pathogen management.
In RA 1.1, the interconnections between physical, chemical and biological properties of vineyard, vines, their management and commercial performance are being described and quantified. Vineyard sites representing the major varieties/regions are being scrutinised over a period of six years. Two contrasting management approaches, ‘Contemporary’ and ‘Future’
(see below), are being compared and their effects on viticultural traits, physical and chemical soil properties, biophysical processes and total surface and sub-soil biota are being assessed.
The two management regimes are as follows:
- Contemporary (Herbicide) treatment is representative of the way most grapes are being grown in New Zealand. Growers are specifically asked to continue their vineyard management, including small annual variations in practice as considered necessary. The only consistent difference with the ‘Future’ treatments is that these Contemporary vineyards are using herbicides to maintain a bare soil under-vine strip, synthetic fungicides and sprays to combat fungal diseases and insect pests, and synthetic fertilisers to mitigate nutritional deficiencies. Most of these vineyards will be maintaining an inter-row permanent groundcover.
- Future (No Herbicide) treatment is representative of growers who do not use herbicides to control weeds in the under-vine region. They use alternative means of controlling under-vine weeds, which will be mainly mechanical by cultivation or mowing. They generally try to maintain a semi-permanent groundcover (inter-row) comprising a wide range of plant species. To help combat fungal diseases and insect pests, preferably naturally occurring products will be used (if required) in these vineyards, although some reserve the right to use synthetic chemistry for particular issues; there are no strict rules around the use of fungicides and fertiliser
Acknowledgements
The researchers would like to acknowledge Bragato Research Institute, New Zealand Winegrowers and the Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment for funding.
The research would not have been possible without the generosity and cooperation from the following vineyards: Babich Wines, Constellation Brands New Zealand, CD & CM Howell Partnership, Craggy Range, D&K Ellin, Delegat Wine Estate, Dog Point Vineyard, Grapeology, Kokako Farms, Mission Estate Winery, Supernatural Wine Co, Te Mata Estate Winery, Tua Marina Vineyards, Villa Maria, William Murdoch Wines and Wither Hills.
Programme Management
Nick Hoskins, Ruby Andrew
Industry Representatives
Jason Doughty, Jeremy Hyland, Jeff Sinnott, Jonathan Hamlett, Larry Morgan
Advisors
Andrew Blakeman, Emma Taylor
Linnaeus Laboratory Ltd
Eline van Zijll de Jong, Will Kerner
South Australian Research and Development Institute
Mark Sosnowski
Thoughtful Viticulture
Mark Krasnow, Dani McMillan
Plant and Food Research
Brent Clothier, Dion Mundy, Isabelle Sorensen, Grant Morris, Nathan Arnold, Peter Wood, Robin MacDiarmid, Vaughn Bell, Victoria Raw, Linley Jesson, Tara Taylor, Bex Woolley, Andrew McLachlan, Monika Walter, Steve Green, Rebecca Gough, Roberta Gentile, Simon Bulman, Karmun Chooi, Bhanupratap Vanga, Damian Martin
Auckland University
Jelena Cosic, Sarah Knight, Soon Lee, Alex Lowrey, Beatrix Jones, Jed Lennox, Jin Wang, Innocenter Amima, Lucie Jiraska, Bruno Fedrizzi, Rebecca Jelley, Melanie Kah, Tianyi Tang
Pinot Noir: Quality and productivity, diversification
Objective: Growing returns through tools enabling high-quality Pinot Noir production at higher yields. The programme began in 2017 and runs to September 2022.
Total Funding: $10.3m comprising $1m from industry levies and $9.3m from MBIE’s Endeavour Fund.
Research: The programme is nearing the end of its third year. Good progress has been made in the research fields of sensory perception, chemistry, and viticultural and winemaking techniques, which have allowed researchers to begin formulating hypotheses around the definitions and measurements of quality for New Zealand Pinot Noir. The past year saw the expansion of the programme with the addition of two projects to examine the effect of macromolecules (polysaccharides) and their content in wine, as well as further understanding of green/herbaceous sensorial perception and implications for product acceptance.
More information about this programme:
- Parr, W.V., Grose, C., Hedderley, D., Medel Maraboli, M., Masters, O., Araujo, L.D., & Valentin, D. (2020). Perception of quality and complexity in wine and their links to varietal typicality: An investigation involving Pinot noir wine and professional tasters. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodres.2020.109423.
- For previous reports from this programme, visit the members’ section of New Zealand Winegrowers website.
Active projects 2021-2022
Wine research in New Zealand is funded by New Zealand Winegrowers’ levies, Government and individual organisations. Programmes and projects are collaborations, which can include universities, Crown Research Institutes, industry consultants, international researchers and other organisations.
Viticulture
Physical means (mechanical shaking) versus chemicals to reduce rot
Project title: A comparison of physical means to reduce rot versus chemical means in New Zealand vineyards
Objectives: The objectives of this project are to assess the viability of mechanical shaking as an alternative to botyticide sprays and to characterise the effects of mechanical shaking on rot incidence and severity, berry skin toughness, and vine gas exchange and water relations, and to compare shaking practice against commonly used botyticides.
Lead researcher: Dr Mark Krasnow
Research organisation: Thoughtful Viticulture
Years: 2018-2021
Funding source: New Zealand Winegrowers
Viticulture treatments for improving Syrah quality
Project title: Viticultural treatments for improving Syrah quality
Objectives: This project aims to compare the effects of regulated deficit irrigation versus normal irrigation on Syrah vine performance, yield, and wine quality and to quantify the effects of deep root pruning on canopy development, yield, and grape quality. The research will also determine the effects of foliar calcium sprays on grape skin toughness, fruit composition, and rot at harvest.
Lead researcher: Dr Mark Krasnow
Research organisation: Thoughtful Viticulture
Years: 2019-2021
Funding source: New Zealand Winegrowers
Improving grapevine remedial surgery to increase longevity
Project title: Improving remedial surgery practices for control of grapevine trunk disease to increase vineyard longevity
Objectives: The project aims to establish the optimal stage of disease progression and season to conduct remedial surgery; to diagnose the main causal agent of trunk disease and to evaluate vine health and productivity of Sauvignon Blanc, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot vines up to four growing seasons following remedial surgery.
Lead researchers: Mark Sosnowski and Dr Eline van Zijll de Jong
Research organisations: South Australian Research & Development Institute and Linnaeus limited
Years: 2019-2023
Funding source: Bragato Research Institute
Improving outcomes of mealybug insecticide use in vineyards
Project title: Improving the outcomes of mealybug insecticide use in vineyards
Objectives: With a focus on the mealybug insecticide active ingredients, buprofezin and spirotetramat, the best practice recommendations outlined in New Zealand Winegrowers and commercial fact sheets will be reviewed. An inventory of the recommendations to compare them and identify any inconsistencies between fact sheets for the same active ingredients will be developed. Ten commercial vineyard blocks will be supported to optimise spray management outcomes, including sprayer calibration. Annual vine leaf assessments to estimate mealybug abundance will be a measure of spray management success or a catalyst for change/improvement.
Lead researcher: Dr Vaughn Bell
Research organisation: Plant and Food Research
Years: 2019-2022
Funding sources: New Zealand Winegrowers
Evaluating potential reservoirs of pathogens of grapevines
Project title: Future-proofing the wine sector with innovation: evaluation of ground cover, amenity & native plants as potential reservoirs of pathogens of grapevines.
Objectives: The objectives of this project are to test if selected clover species/cultivars are alternative host plants for Grapevine leafroll-associated virus 3 (GLRaV-3) and to determine the period of time over which mealybugs feeding on selected clovers are no longer infected with GLRaV-3. The project also aims to understand what pathogens may be present in ground cover, amenity & natives plants in NZ vineyards and if pathogens are detected in ground cover, amenity or native plants, understand what influence and any potential implications it (they) may have for future vineyard management.
Lead researcher: Dr Vaughn Bell
Research organisation: Plant and Food Research
Years: 2018-2020
Funding source: Bragato Research Institute
Water savings and optimising irrigation for yield and quality
Project title: Optimisation of irrigation and water savings in Marlborough Sauvignon blanc and Pinot Noir and Hawke’s Bay Chardonnay and Merlot
Objectives: The objectives of this project are to produce the same tonnage and quality of fruit from Marlborough Sauvignon blanc and Hawke’s Bay Chardonnay vines, but with less water usage and to achieve target yields, improve fruit quality, and reduce water use in Pinot Noir and Merlot by precision vine stress management.
Lead researcher: Dr Mark Krasnow
Research organisation: Thoughtful Viticulture
Years: 2017-2021
Funding sources: New Zealand Winegrowers
Managing hail-damaged vineyards (Hawkes Bay and Canterbury)
Project title: Climate case study – Managing hail damaged vineyards
Objectives: The aim of the project is to document various hail recovery management strategies applied by viticulturists using a case study type approach and to increase the volume of information available to growers, to help inform future decision-making following hail events. A scorecard will be created, and this may offer an industry standard approach to assessing hail and/or frost damage.
Lead researcher: Len Ibbotson
Research organisation: Bragato Research Institute
Years: 2019-2021
Funding source: New Zealand Winegrowers and Bragato Research Institute
Cost-efficient weed management
Project title: Cost-efficient optimisation of weed management in vineyards
Objectives: The objectives of the project are to investigate the effects of different under-vine vegetation management practices on vine vigour, health, productivity, and fruit quality.
Lead researcher: Dr Mark Krasnow
Research organisation: Thoughtful Viticulture
Years: 2016-2020
Funding sources: New Zealand Winegrowers
Automation of grape yield estimation
Project title: An automated grape yield estimation system
Objectives: The objectives of this project are to develop a colour + depth camera system for scanning grapevines and to validate camera performance through lab and field measurements. The system will automatically identify grape bunches from the camera data and an artificial intelligence-based algorithm will be developed and implement it as an application software package to estimate the grape volume/quality from 3D scans.
Lead researchers: Baden Mathew Tully Parr (PhD student); Dr Mathew Legg (Supervisor)
Research organisation: Massey University
Years: 2018-2020
Funding sources: Rod Bonfiglioli Scholarship
Precision grape yield analyser programme
Project title: Precision grape yield analyser programme
Objectives: No single sensor technology can provide the vineyard measurements we require. The first research aim in this project is to study three technologies for sensing grape attributes: microwaves, machine vision and optical NIR. Outputs from these and supplementary sensors, e.g., GPS-derived position & weather station data, will be incorporated in the GYA model. The second aim of the project is to study the predictive power of integrating on-vine and related measurements with bio-economic models for forecasting yield based on Bayesian approaches.
Lead researcher: Dr Armin Werner
Research organisation: Lincoln Agritech Limited
Years: 2016-2021
Funding sources: New Zealand Winegrowers
Microbial and vine responses to rising temperatures in NZ
Project title: Microbial community and vine responses to increasing temperatures in the New Zealand context
Objectives: This project will quantify how vines and microbial communities sourced from regional wine growing locations respond to increased temperatures as predicted under climate change scenarios and will determine the effects of microbial communities on fruit development and composition. It will ascertain whether changes in microbial communities, due to increases in temperature, translate into differences in wine composition.
Lead researcher: Dr Sarah Knight
Research organisation: University of Auckland
Years: 2020-2023
Funding source: Bragato Research Institute
For more information on this project, visit our news section.
Electronic spray deposition sensor for improved spray coverage
Project title: Electronic spray deposition sensor for improved spray coverage
Objectives: Using an electronic spray deposition sensor will improve coverage of the target surfaces (leaves) by providing instant real-time quantitative feedback to sprayer operators on spray coverage and deposition in vineyards. The objective is to increase the efficacy of fungicide treatments of grape bunches and reduce the amount of pesticide used.
Lead researcher: Scott Post
Research organisation: Lincoln Agritech Limited
Years: 2019-2020
Funding sources: New Zealand Winegrowers
Potential for nanotechnology - wine growing in New Zealand
Project title: Potential applications of nanotechnology for wine growing in New Zealand
Objectives: The aim of the projects is to identify promising applications of nanotechnology to increase the sustainability of the wine growing sector and to discover the most pressing issues perceived by wine growers in NZ in relation to plant protection, plant nutrition and sustainability. The researcher will analyse how they could be addressed by nanotechnology and the perception of growers about nanotechnology.
Lead researcher: Dr Melaine Kah
Research organisation: University of Auckland
Years: 2020-2023
Funding sources: Bragato Research Institute
Viti-think: a financial calculator for growers
Project title: Viti-think: a financial calculator for growers
Objectives: This project is aim to build a financial calculator that will allow growers to model various pruning scenarios to see the effect on yield and profitability for their vineyard.
Lead researcher: Len Ibbotson
Research organisation: Bragato Research Institute
Years: 2020
Funding source: Bragato Research Institute
Long spur pruning as an alternative to cane pruning for Sauvignon blanc in Marlborough
Objectives: To compare 2-cordon, long spur pruning as an alternative to cane pruning for Sauvignon blanc in Marlborough and collect data to report on the relative cost of each pruning type and the medium.
Lead researcher: Len Ibbotson
Research organisation: Bragato Research Institute
Years: 2021/2022
Funding source: New Zealand Winegrowers
Science review of cover-cropping in vineyards
Objectives: To complete a literature review of published information describing the potential benefits and drawbacks of cover-cropping in vineyards and produce a summary for industry.
Lead researcher: Len Ibbotson
Research organisation: Bragato Research Institute
Years: 2021/2022
Funding source: New Zealand Winegrowers
Central Otago mealybug and grapevine leafroll virus management
Objectives: To investigate mealybug in Central Otago (CO) vineyards by pheromone trapping, vine leaf and ground cover monitoring, increase regional awareness and provide education.
Lead researcher: Len Ibbotson
Research organisation: Bragato Research Institute
Years: 2021/2022
Funding source: New Zealand Winegrowers
Weevils in New Zealand vineyards
Objectives: To investigate the distribution and type of weevil species present in vineyards in three New Zealand (NZ) winegrowing regions and create a resource for industry to enable identification and provide recommendation for next steps.
Lead researcher: Len Ibbotson
Research organisation: Bragato Research Institute
Years: 2021/2022
Funding source: New Zealand Winegrowers
Trunk Disease: Applied research and extension FY22
Objectives: To review and report on soft control options for trunk disease management and produce and compare trial wines from the existing Marlborough based, Sauvignon blanc remedial surgery trial. Support delivery of regionally based extension activities.
Lead researcher: Len Ibbotson
Research organisation: Bragato Research Institute
Years: 2021/2022
Funding source: New Zealand Winegrowers
Oenology
Prevention of quercetin instability in bottled wine
Project title: Prevention of quercetin instability in bottled wine
Objectives: The objectives of this project are to determine the influence of viticulture, winemaking practices and climate on the stability of quercetin in wine and to develop a set of tools that can be used to evaluate the risk of precipitate formation and to manage the winemaking process to eliminate the risk of precipitation in bottle. This project is also to examine the climatic conditions over three growing seasons to further our understanding of the impact of temperature and light on quercetin development, as well as on important co-factors (e.g., anthocyanins) that help stabilize quercetin in wine.
Lead researcher: Emma Taylor
Research organisation: Villa Maria Wines Limited
Years: 2019-2023
Funding sources: Villa Maria and Bragato Research Institute
Winemaking decisions and polysaccharides in wine
Project title: The effect of winemaking decisions on polysaccharide content in wine
Objectives: The objectives of this project are to develop an analytical method to measure high, medium, and low molecular weight polysaccharides in wines and to determine the effect of different yeast strains and of different pectolytic enzymes on polysaccharides concentration in Pinot noir wines during winemaking.
Lead researcher: Dr Bruno Fedrizzi
Research organisation: University of Auckland
Years: 2020-2023
Funding sources: MBIE (Pinot Noir programme) and New Zealand Winegrowers
Winemaking decisions and polysaccharides in wine
Project title: The effect of winemaking decisions on polysaccharide content in wine
Objectives: The objectives of this project are to develop an analytical method to measure high, medium, and low molecular weight polysaccharides in wines and to determine the effect of different yeast strains and of different pectolytic enzymes on polysaccharides concentration in Pinot noir wines during winemaking.
Lead researcher: Dr Bruno Fedrizzi
Research organisation: University of Auckland
Years: 2020-2023
Funding sources: MBIE (Pinot Noir programme) and New Zealand Winegrowers
Understanding green character in Pinot noir wine
Project title: The importance of green: understanding ‘green’ and ‘herbaceous’ characters in Pinot noir wine and their role in driving judgements of perceived quality.
Objectives: The aim of the project is to identify key ‘green’ and ‘herbaceous’ notes in NZ Pinot noir wines that drive judgements of high or low quality. The researchers will work in a complementary fashion with chemistry colleagues investigating components of Pinot noir wine chemical composition associated with nuances of ‘green’ and ‘herbaceous’ notes (e.g., methoxypyrazines; C6 compounds; phenolic compounds).
Lead researcher: Dr Damir Torrico
Research organisation: Lincoln University
Years: 2020-2023
Funding sources: MBIE (Pinot Noir programme) and New Zealand Winegrowers
Effects of freezing Sauvignon blanc juice - assessing quality
Project title: Effects of freezing Sauvignon blanc juice – assessing the impact on the quality of subsequent wine
Objectives: Some studies have shown that freezing Sauvignon blanc juice can increase thiol concentrations in the resulting wines. While this is a positive effect, this project is to investigate the effects on other juice components and how this may alter the quality.
Lead researcher: Dr Tanya Rutan
Research organisation: Bragato Research Institute
Year: 2020
Funding source: Bragato Research Institute
Chemistry of Vineyard Ecosystems programme samples
Project title: Exploring the chemical space in Vineyard Ecosystems (VE) programme juice and wine
Objectives: The objectives of this project are to characterize the VE juice and wine chemical composition in depth and to understand the pressure applied by VE programme vineyard management regimes on grape and wine chemical composition.
Lead researcher: Dr Bruno Fedrizzi
Research organisation: University of Auckland
Years: 2018-2020
Funding source: New Zealand Winegrowers
Exploring reductive aromas in Pinot noir
Project title: Exploring reductive aromas in Pinot noir
Objectives: A three year study investigating vineyard and winemaking procedures contributing to the formation and accumulation of sulfurous off flavours and aromas in Pinot noir, ultimately developing a model that will enable knowledgeable winemaking decisions and minimise reductive characteristics.
Lead researcher: Dr Bruno Fedrizzi
Research organisation: University of Auckland
Years: 2021-2024
Funding source: New Zealand Winegrowers
Precipitation of calcium tartrate and other compounds in wine
Project title: Precipitation of calcium tartrate and other compounds in wine
Objectives: A three year project investigating the precipitation of calcium tartrate and other compounds in wine with an aim to provide an effective modelling tool to predict precipitates which will enable winemakers to exercise knowledgeable prevention and intervention and ensure a quality product.
Lead researcher: Ken Morison
Research organisation: University of Canterbury
Years: 2021-2024
Funding source: New Zealand Winegrowers
Effect of bentonite addition prior to cold soaking on Pinot noir wine colour, tannin and aroma profile
Project title: Effect of bentonite addition prior to cold soaking on Pinot noir wine colour, tannin and aroma profile
Objectives: A one year project to investigate the impact of early protein removal by adding bentonite on Pinot noir wine colour, tannin and aroma composition.
Lead researcher: Bin Tian
Research organisation: Lincoln University
Years: 2021-2022
Funding source: New Zealand Winegrowers
