3727 research projects
Research project
Objective measures of quality and provenance in Australian vineyards
Wine Australia
Determination of winegrape quality has always been somewhat subjective. This project builds on knowledge gained in the proof-of-concept project AWR 1202, which identified important chemical predictors for commercial grape quality grading in Shiraz, Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon. This project aims to provide grapegrowers and winemakers with objective measures of assessing...
1 Jul 2017 - 30 Jun 2022
South Australia, Australia
Australian Wine Research Institute
Research project
Understanding Brettanomyces and its adaptation to control measures
Wine Australia
Brettanomyces yeast cause wine spoilage by producing 4-ethylphenol and 4-ethylguiacol which are responsible for ‘phenolic’, ‘leather’, ‘sweaty’ and ‘medicinal’ aromas (collectively known as ‘Brett’ character). Previous research has shown that it is possible for sulfite-resistant Brettanomyces strains to evolve and develop even greater levels of sulfite tolerance, although the genetic...
1 Jul 2017 - 30 Jun 2022
South Australia, Australia
Australian Wine Research Institute
Research project
Formation and fate of sulfur compounds associated with negative attributes in wines
Wine Australia
The occurrence of volatile sulfur compounds (VSCs) is influenced by factors including yeast selection and fermentation conditions; the nature and quantity of precursor compounds; the availability or absence of oxygen at different points of the winemaking process; and the availability and speciation of transition metal ions such as copper. As...
1 Jul 2017 - 30 Jun 2022
South Australia, Australia
Australian Wine Research Institute
Research project
Managing the impact of vintage advancement and compression
Wine Australia
Vintage compression due to climate change is well-documented. The period between the harvest of early maturing varieties, such as Chardonnay, and that of late ripening varieties, such as Cabernet Sauvignon, is becoming shorter. This places significant stress on processing logistics and capacity at the winery as well as delaying fruit...
1 Jul 2017 - 30 Sep 2020
South Australia, Australia
Australian Wine Research Institute
Research project
Defining regional variability and uniqueness of premium Australian Shiraz
Wine Australia
Despite being instrumental in selling a wine’s story and commanding a price premium; terroir remains an enigmatic concept. This project supports a larger initiative, the Shiraz Terroir project (CSU 1602) that aims to describe the diversity of Shiraz wines in Australia, to understand what the compounds are in grapes that...
1 Jul 2017 - 30 Jun 2022
South Australia, Australia
Australian Wine Research Institute
Research project
Development of tools to verify origin and varietal nature of wines
Wine Australia
High value wine is an attractive target for substitution and fraud especially where demand outstrips supply. This can damage the reputation of the affected brand and or country of origin and costs the industry significant revenue. This project builds on previous work that investigated whether a combination of different analytical...
1 Jul 2017 - 30 Jun 2022
South Australia, Australia
Australian Wine Research Institute
Research project
Bioprospecting Australian microbial genetic diversity
Wine Australia
An important aspect of terroir, particularly where spontaneous fermentations are performed, is very likely to be related to differences in wine microbiota. Focused microbiological research has shown that both vineyards and spontaneous fermentations contain diverse mixtures of microbial species. However, lack of knowledge on the microbial species present is a...
1 Jul 2017 - 30 Jun 2022
South Australia, Australia
Australian Wine Research Institute
Research project
Rotundone and its role in defining terroir in iconic Australian cool climate ‘peppery’ Shiraz
Wine Australia
Improving understanding of how provenance and terroir drive the expression of sought-after and highly valued wine styles will contribute to the continued development of the Australian wine industry. In this regard, it is important to know more about rotundone, the grape-derived ‘peppery’ flavour and aroma compound that is highly sought...
1 Jul 2017 - 30 Jun 2022
South Australia, Australia
Australian Wine Research Institute
Research project
Understanding the basis of agrochemical resistance in biotrophic grapevine pathogens
Wine Australia
The development of resistance to agrochemicals is an ever-increasing problem in agriculture. Previous work has shown widespread prevalence of known resistance alleles in the main biotrophic grapevine pathogens Erysiphe necator (powdery mildew) and Plasmopara viticola (downy mildew) to many commonly used agrochemicals. This project aims to use genome sequencing technology...
1 Jul 2017 - 30 Jun 2022
South Australia, Australia
Australian Wine Research Institute
Research project
Tracking trends in Australian wine composition and vineyard and winery practices
Wine Australia
This project will track trends in Australian wine composition and vineyard and winery practices. Compositional trends will principally be monitored by collating analytical data from wines submitted to the Australian Wine Research Institute’s analytical laboratories for commercial analysis. Trends in production practices will principally be monitored via a web-based survey...
1 Jul 2017 - 30 Jun 2022
South Australia, Australia
Australian Wine Research Institute