On 25 May 2021, the National Wine Sector Bushfire Conference continued the important conversations around Australia’s experiences with fire and delivered the findings of recent research to help our community better prepare for future fires.
Prepare, respond and recover were the themes of the day, with grape and wine producers and leading researchers presenting on bushfire preparedness, smoke effects and recovery from fire to ensure that grapegrowers, winemakers and businesses are better prepared, better informed and better equipped to handle the decisions that need to be made before, during and after bushfires.
The conference comprised a wide range of in-depth presentations, research updates, practical bushfire preparedness, and best practice techniques for smoke effects and recovery from fire.
View the program here and the speaker profiles here.
The National Wine Sector Bushfire Conference was held simultaneously at four locations:
• NSW | International Convention Centre, Sydney
• SA | Adelaide Hills Convention Centre, Hahndorf
• VIC | Wangaratta Performing Arts Centre, Wangaratta, and
• WA | Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development, South Perth
Recordings
Recordings of the proceedings are now available in this playlist or from links below:
- Introduction by Angus Barnes, NSW Wine Industry Association and Opening address by Minister Littleproud, Minister for Agriculture, Drought and Emergency Management
- National wine sector bushfire conference - Background by Andreas Clark, Wine Australia
- Objective of the conference by Angus Barnes, NSW Wine Industry Association
- Industry overview by Tony Battaglene, Australian Grape & Wine
- Leadership, & reflections on the challenging events and experiences of 2020 by Commissioner Fitzsimmons AFSM, Commissioner of Resilience NSW and Deputy Secretary Emergency Management.
Session 1 - Regional Overview: Vintage 2019–20
- National overview by Dr Mark Krstic, Australian Wine Research Institute
- SA Regional experience: Adelaide Hills sensory assessment in summer of 2020 by Peter Leske, Revenir Winemaking
- NSW Regional overview: There is no smoke without fire by Mark Bourne, NSW Wine Industry Association
- Victorian Regional overview by Brett McClen, Brown Family Wines
Session 2 - Vineyard preparation, response & recovery
- Preparation – Learning from experience by Colin Hinze, Pinion Advisory
- Response – Managing relationships with wineries by Tim Bartsch, Bartsch Vignerons
- Response – Winemaking options for tainted grapes by Liz Silkman, Silkman Wines
- Recovery – Rapid assessment and grapevine recovery after a bushfire by Dr Cas Collins, University of Adelaide
- Recovery – Remediation timing and methods by Dr Richard Hamilton, Hamilton Viticulture
- Questions
Session 3 - Best practice smoke taint analysis and industry sensory experiences
- Assessment of smoke exposure on grapes – Blind Tasting by Dr John Blackman, National Wine & Grape Industry Centre
- Smoke taint diagnostics: Insights from the commercial laboratories by Dr Eric Wilkes, Australian Wine Research Institute and Greg Howell, Vintessential Laboratories
- Regional experience: Adelaide Hills sensory assessment in summer of 2020 by Peter Leske, Revenir Winemaking
- Smoke taint sensory evaluation: considerations to improve rigour and aid decision making by Damian Espinase Nandorfy, Australian Wine Research Institute
- Questions
Session 4 - Research updates and mitigation in practice
The latest research
- An early warning system: linking atmospheric smoke dose to predict smoke taint in wine by Prof. Ian Porter, La Trobe University
- Pre-veraison smoke exposure: learnings from the 2019 Adelaide Hills fire event by Dr Mango Parker, Australian Wine Research Institute
- Strategies for mitigation and management of smoke taint in grapes and wine by Prof. Kerry Wilkinson, University of Adelaide
Mitigation in practice: different regions, different styles
- Regional experience, Adelaide Hills by Warwick Billings, Lodestone
- Regional experience, Victoria by Joel Pizzini, Pizzini Wines
- Regional experience, New South Wales by Alex Cassegrain, Cassegrain Wines
- Questions
Fire and smoke resources
A range of resources are available to assist in preparing for fire, vineyard recovery following fire, and assessing and managing smoke impacts. These include links to webinars, factsheets and case studies.
Conference partners
The National Bushfire Conference is coordinated by Wine Australia, Australian Grape and Wine, the Australian Society of Viticulture and Oenology (ASVO) and the Australian Wine Research Institute (AWRI).
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Sponsors
The National Wine Sector Bushfire Conference is additionally sponsored by:
NSW
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Wangaratta
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