Bulk wine not affected by transport choices
More than half of Australian wine exports now leave our shores in bulk for packaging in market – up from just 20 per cent a decade ago.
With this in mind, Wine Australia funded a project with the Australian Wine Research Institute (AWRI) looking at the bulk transport process, and whether the choices wine companies make have any sensory or chemical impact on the wine during or after transit.
AWRI researchers Simon Nordestgaard and Eric Wilkes together with wine sector collaborators tracked more than one million litres of wine bound for the UK over 15 months and the results were very positive.
They found that the choice of tank, shipping route and filling temperature essentially had no impact. No taints were observed and, according to packaging facilities, the pick-up of taints during bulk transport has not been an issue for many years.
The absence of any taints ‘is likely a testament to the management strategies introduced by the largest freight forwarders/flexitank suppliers servicing the Australian wine sector’, Dr Nordestgaard said in his final report.
‘These measures include container sorting, container lining and flexitank barrier films that provide a final stage of product protection. Whenever engaging a new freight forwarder/flexitank supplier it is recommended to ensure that well-conceived taint avoidance strategies/materials are in place together with appropriate proof of performance.’
Dr Nordestgaard ran the trials in 4 batches, each involving around 11 containers filled with 24,000 litres of wine, with the type of tank (ISO tanks or flexitanks), shipping route and filling temperature (8°C or 19°C) as the 3 variables. Chardonnay was the wine of choice, as it is the white variety exported in the greatest volume to the UK. A few containers of Shiraz-Cabernet Sauvignon blend were also monitored.
On average, ISO tanks resulted in marginally higher retention of a couple of chemical compounds, but in tastings experienced winemakers did not consistently prefer the wines shipped in ISO tanks.
The route taken, and whether or not the wine was trans-shipped via a hub port (e.g. Malaysia) or stayed on board the same ship, had no real impact. Schedules varied, and in some cases routes involving trans-shipping were actually quicker because there were fewer other stops.
A summary of the project’s findings can be found here on the Wine Australia website. The full project report is available on request via the AWRI helpdesk (08 8313 6600 or helpdesk@awri.com.au).
The results will also be presented at upcoming AWRI Roadshow Seminars in Berri (8 June), Mildura (9 June) and Griffith (October). See grapeandwineevents.com.au for more details.