The year the whites were spoiled

Press, 21 April 1979, Page 10

The year the whites were spoiled

ON THE GRAPEVINE

by

Maurice Hunter

The message is loud and clear. Buy up all the ’7B whites you can afford. Good ones from the 1979 vintage will be hard to find. In all areas hopes for the best vintage for some time were high. The fruit was filling nicely, the sugar levels were rising and everything in the vineyard was lovely. And then the rains came. Within a very short time vintners were sadly surveying their respective disaster areas. The fruit had split and the rot, botrytis, had set in. There was a scramble to pick what could be salvaged but the fruit, instead of reaching the desired sugar level of 19 to 20 in the Brix scale, was coming in at only 14 to 16. Hawke’s Bay suffered a little less than Gisborne or Auckland, but in all areas it was bad news. So not only will the winemakers be put to the test to produce acceptable wines but the yield will also be down, creating even more shortages

than we normally experience. Consumption is currently 11 litre per head of population and is forecast to increase by about 1 litre per year. What will happen to prices is anyone’s guess but they certainly will not be reduced.

The normal method of correcting low sugar levels is to add cane sugar, not a desirable practice but sometimes the only way out. In France and Germany, Chaptalisation, as it is called, is widely followed in poor years, but only by authorisation of the government; and the percentage of additional sugar is strictly controlled.

An alternative European method which has not so far been used in New Zealand is to add grape concentrate. This is obtained from grape juice from which some of the water has been removed either by boiling or by freezing, thus increasing the sugar ratio.

Frank Yukich, managing director of Penfolds New Zealand, has thrown a cat

among the pigeons in proposing to use Australian concentrate in his ’79 wines.

No doubt the idea originated with Penfolds Australia, who retained a 5 per cent holding when selling their New Zealand interests to Mr Yukich. It didn’t take long for four

major producers, Corbans, Cooks, Montana and McWilliams, to take out a Supreme Court injunction restraining Penfolds from using the concentrate. The merits of using Australian concentrate in New Zealand wine is likely to give rise to much argument and debate. A Christchurch winemaker with considerable overseas experience, Mr Danny Schuster, takes the liberal view.

He contends that, as sugar will not' dissolve in wine, it can be added only in solution with an. equal quantity of water and that the use of concentrate is a much more desirable alternative. He believes that the benefits to be derived from concentrate of grapes which are not cultivated locally, such as Shiraz, would result in a lift in quality, particularly in reds.

He also feels that, since a better balance of trade with Australia is being sought and Australians want New Zealand wines, the export to them of tastes with which they are familiar should help to increase exports. Would Australians want to import Australian-tas-ting wines? It’s an interesting point. Frankly, if I were visiting Australia I would want to taste the wines of the country, not those which taste like the ones I drink at home.

Frank Yukich has always been known as an innovator. In addition to building Montana from virtually nothing to a major force in the space

of 15 years — after which he eased out of Montana and bought Penfolds — he also conceived the idea of establishing a vineyard in the South Island.

His foresight is amply vindicated this year. Montana's Blenheim vineyard is the only one in the country to have escaped the elements almost scot free. The Gewurz Traminer has been harvested unharmed and 100 acres of Riesling Sylvaner has been picked. Although the sugar level is lower than desired and there was some botrytis, it is nothing to worry about. Harvesting of the remaining 550 acres began this week and North Island growers will be tearing their hearts out over the unbelievable sugar level of 22 Brix. So while the yield may not be enough to compensate for losses in other areas, given another few days without rain the quality of Blenheimer and Marlborough Riesling is assured, and I am told that the Cabernet Sauvignon grapes are outstanding. It is possible that other

major producers will now be looking seriously at the South Island?