The Australian Society of Viticulture and Oenology (ASVO) last week announced its Awards for Excellence winners for 2018. Two researchers from CSIRO Agriculture and Food here at Waite were among the award recipients.
The inaugural Dr Peter May Award for most cited paper from the AJGWR over the last five years was awarded to Dr Rob Bramley, CSIRO Agriculture & Food. The award was introduced for the first time this year to honour the late Dr Peter May who was the foundational editor of the Australian Journal of Grape and Wine Research.
The paper, ‘Within vineyard variation in the ‘pepper’ compound rotundone is spatially structured and related to variation in the land underlying the vineyard’, reports the results of investigation initiated by the late Nathan Scarlett who was the national technical viticulturist with the Rathbone Wine Group (and an ASVO Viticulturist of the Year finalist in 2014).
Dr Bramley said, “The work is significant in being the first ever demonstration of spatial variation at the within-vineyard scale of a grape-derived wine flavour and aroma compound. However, possibly its greatest significance is that, for the most part, it was undertaken without any sort of structured funding support and purely on the basis of the goodwill of those involved in the work, who saw the merits of pursuing a good idea when they saw one. Hopefully, there is a lesson in that for all ASVO members and others involved in Australian viticultural and oenological research.”
The winemaking paper of the year was awarded to Dr Paul Boss for ‘Fermentation of grapes throughout development identifies stages critical to the development of wine volatile composition’.
Dr Boss’s paper was selected by the committee because it brings into question current beliefs regarding grape flavour development and picking times through detailed chemical analysis of Cabernet Sauvignon and Riesling over the course of berry development. This information has a direct application for winemakers who can tailor their wine style from the vineyard, the committee noted.
The full list of award winners:
- ASVO Viticulturist of the year – Colin Bell, AHA Viticulture
- ASVO Winemaker of the Year – Pete Bissell, Balnaves
- ASVO Viticulture Paper of the Year – Catherine Clarke, Agriculture Victoria
- ASVO Oenology Paper of the Year – Paul Boss, CSIRO Agriculture and Food
- ASVO Dr Peter May Award – Rob Bramley, CSIRO Agriculture and Food
Dr Peter May Award winner Rob Bramley with relatives of Peter May. Photo: John Krüger
ASVO Oenology Paper of the Year winner, Paul Boss and his team, CSIRO Agriculture and Food. Photo: John Krüger
