Current Issue

March/April  2009 | Volume 24, Number 2

The Wine Industry Journal’s popular Varietal Report looks at Merlot this issue and discovers that the criticism of Merlot from the movie Sideways in 2005 has enthused producers to work harder in both the vineyard and winery to lift Merlot’s profile in the red wine category. Tasting panellist and introductory article writer, James Irvine, celebrated as one of Australia’s premier Merlot makers, was inspired by the wines on show for this report and though his wines came up trumps overall, the tasting has led him to think carefully about the style of wine to come from Irvine Wines in future vintages, proving the Wine Industry Journal’s influence on the experts.

The musings of Dr Richard Smart feature prominently in this issue, starting with the opinion column, where he prophesises on the outlook for the Australian wine industry. Taking a proactive approach, Smart says a review of industry strategies, particularly in terms of export to the UK, is needed to sure up future success. Following the opinion article is the regular ‘Smart Thinking on Viticulture’ column, where Smart takes the opportunity to share his view on the increase in wineries seeking to add an ‘icon’ wine to the portfolio, and gives advice about what is required in the vineyard to produce the necessary quality.

Wine Network Consulting’s Rachel Gore reviews the options available to winemakers in clarifying white winegrape juice, including earth filtration, centrifugation and flotation. Staying with the problem-solving theme, ‘Innovation for Success’ columnists Vince O’Brien and Chris Colby put forward some ideas about how to improve efficiencies for vintage 2010, now that this year’s wine is well in progress.

Leading this issue’s extensive business section, Tony Keys reports on the increase in co-operative ventures in the Australian wine fraternity, giving participants great benefits from pooling resources and increasing opportunities for extended reach in marketing and selling.

The Japanese wine market has been as interesting as it has been volatile for Australian wine for at least the past decade, and as Jonathan Scott says in his column, the careful selection of a Japanese agent can be of tremendous benefits in identifying and accessing the proper distribution channels for wine in this market.

The Wine Industry Journal is pleased to present its readers with the second article from Professor Larry Lockshin and his team at the Wine Marketing Group, Ehrenberg-Bass Institute for Marketing Science at the University of South Australia, studying the development of a new method to measure how consumers choose wine. Once it is better understood what aspects of product and its promotion consumers use to make a purchase decision, wineries and distributors can tailor the marketing push to suit consumer needs. Part 2 of Simone Mueller and Wendy Umberger’s research in the behaviour of Australian cask wine consumers follows this report.

There is a lot more featuring in this Wine Industry Journal for readers to enjoy and as always, if you have any feedback to share with us about the magazine, including topics you want to see more of, then let us know. Contact editor Lauren Jones, telephone +618 8369 9500 or email lauren@winetitles.com.au.

AWBC

• The Australian Wine and Brandy Corporation and Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) have been in lengthy negotiations about the future of wine industry statistics collections, following the ABS suffering reduced Commonwealth funding.

AWRI Report

• Bacteria and yeast that colonise grape must and wine include several dozen species are considered both friends and foes of the winemaker.

Business

• The final report from Simone Mueller and Wendy Umberger’s research about what drives Australian cask wine consumers reveals an opportunity for wine companies not currently marketing cask wine products to ‘extend’ popular wine brands to include new cask-packaged wines.
• Professor Larry Lockshin leads a team of researchers in developing a new method to measure how consumers choose wine, including the surveying of 1233 regular red wine consumers from New South Wales to discover the respondents’ wine preferences.
• Jonathan Scott reflects on the boom and bust times of Australian wine in Japan and gives some insight to what needs to be considered if attempting to gain a foothold in this often difficult and confusing market.

Filtration and Clarification

• Wine Network Consulting’s Rachel Gore explores the methods of white winegrape juice clarification, including diatomaceous earth, centrifugation and flotation techniques.

Innovation For Success

• With vintage over for another year, Vince O’Brien, of the AWRI, and Chris Colby, of waste and recycling consultant Rawtec, present a group of ideas to assist readers to make their business more profitable, considering important issues that are of relevance now or are emerging in the near future.

Merlot Varietal Report

• According to James Irvine, leading Australian Merlot producer of Irvine Wines in South Australia’s Eden Valley, Merlot is the “Cinderella in waiting” among other red varieties, and deserves greater accolades than it has received over the past 40 years.

New Varieties, New Opportunities

• New South Wales wine writer and sommelier Deb Pearce speaks to winemakers in the Southern Highlands region about the alternative grape varieties sparking interest in new wines being created.

Opinion

• Dr Richard Smart poses the question, ‘Is the outlook healthy for the Australian wine sector’ and ponders the sustainability of the industry in terms of international competitiveness, and what strategies need to be in place to ensure future success.

The Keys Files

• Tony Keys speaks to wine industry members that have formed co-operatives, groups of wine producers that are collaborating with resources and ideas for greater impact in the marketplace

Regulars

• AWRI Report
• AWBC
• Jonathan Scott
• New Varieties, New Opportunities
• Opinion
• PP Bradshaw
• Richard Smart
• The Key Files
• Varietal Report
• WFA
• Winetitles Bookstore