Wine Australia-funded research has resulted in improved vineyard performance through the development of efficient and sustainable vineyard management practices and enhanced grapevine and rootstock performance.
Resources in this section provide knowledge from advances made in research and development in planting materials for the Australian grape and wine community.
Superior planting material is the foundation of the wine sector. High-quality germplasm that is resilient to climate and environmental challenges, while being able to deliver desired wine quality and styles, is key.
Wine Australia-funded research continues to breed and evaluate rootstocks, varieties and clones that produce desirable wine styles, while possessing other essential properties to improve vineyard performance and increase the competitiveness of the sector.
Rootstocks
Wine Australia-funded research has developed and evaluated new rootstocks with increased tolerance to a range of biotic and abiotic stressors such as drought, heat, salinity and soil-borne pests including phylloxera and nematodes.
Decision making support for grapegrowers and winemakers in selecting appropriate rootstocks is available through Wine Australia’s Grapevine Rootstock Selector tool. The online tool brings together the most recent knowledge from Australian and international research about the specific characteristics of different rootstocks and enables growers to determine the rootstocks that will best suit their specific vineyard characteristics and grape variety selections.
Grapevine germplasm
Wine Australia has also provided support to ensure the continuing availability of high quality planting material through the development and coordination of a national winegrape germplasm collection. This will provide an ongoing source of planting material that will assist the Australian winegrowing community into the future.
Current research projects concerning planting material (Enhancing grapevine and rootstock performance) can be found under Strategy 5: Improving vineyard performance.