Clones and alternative varieties bottled
Over 300 bottles of wines from two key research projects have recently been bottled at the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development’s Bunbury wine laboratory.
Grape and Wine Research Officer Richard Fennessy who oversaw this year’s bottling said that some of the wines were a continuation of the project ‘Assessing clonal variability in Chardonnay and Shiraz for future climate change’.
This year focused on Chardonnay clones grown in Margaret River and the Great Southern wine regions.
These clones will undergo formal sensory assessment by the Australian Wine Research Institute later in 2017.
Western Australian grape growers and winemakers will also have the opportunity to taste and compare these clones in a number of workshops over the coming months (keep an eye on the Future events section at the end of the Wine Industry Newsletter).
The second project that bottled was the ‘Evaluation and demonstration of alternative varieties’.
This project utilises an evaluation block of 21 varieties established in 2012 at the Harvey Campus of the WA College of Agriculture.
With the assistance of the students at the college, 13 varieties were harvested and 15 wines were made (two varieties were made into a rosé and red table wine).
Winemaking techniques employed to maximise unique varietal expression include yeast strain selection, skin contact, fermentation temperature, oak and time on lees.
Table 1 summarises the varieties that were harvested in 2017.
| Variety | Style | Region | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vermentino | White | Geographe | Italy |
| Fiano | White | Geographe | Italy |
| Savagnin | White | Geographe | France |
| Pignoletto | White | Geographe | Italy |
| Arneis | White | Geographe | Italy |
| Scheurebe | White | Geographe | Germany |
| Gruner Veltliner | White | Manjimup | Austria |
| Dolcetto | Rose | Geographe | Italy |
| Sciacarello | Rose | Geographe | Corsica |
| Dolcetto | Red | Geographe | Italy |
| Sciacarello | Red | Geographe | Corsica |
| Graciano | Red | Geographe | Spain |
| Tannat | Red | Geographe | France |
| Saperavi | Red | Geographe | Georgia |
| Carmenere | Red | Geographe | France |
These wines will be formally assessed by the Geographe Wine Show judging panel in late September 2017.
Regional associations have been invited to provide an Expression of Interest for Richard to present the wines in various regions. If you are interested in trying these varieties, please contact your regional association.
In January 2018, a field walk will be held at the Harvey evaluation block where producers will have the opportunity to view the vines and taste the wines. Details will be provided closer to the date.