Region in focus: Greater Victoria

Four themes dominate a strong extension program planned and under way in Victoria this financial year.

There will be a particular focus on helping individual parts of the state manage issues around climate change, with five regional workshops planned.

‘We’re still working out the timing but they are likely to be held post-vintage’, said the Victorian Node Manager for the Australian Wine Research Institute (AWRI) Dr Mark Krstic.

‘We’ll run the session in Mornington Peninsula, Yarra Valley, Geelong, Great Western and up in the north-east, but will tweak each one to suit local need.

‘It’s been pretty dry in the west of the state so water supply and quality is an issue, but up in the north-east things such as vintage compression and sluggish or stuck ferments are more of a concern.

‘We’ll also be looking at heatwave management and the steps growers can take to try to predict the likely weather patterns and take appropriate steps.’

Trunk disease is also an issue in Victoria’s cooler regions, particularly in older vineyards, so demonstration trials focussing on disease prevention and treatment are planned for Mornington Peninsula and the north-east.

These will be followed by extension activities with Dr Mark Sosnowski from the SA Research & Development Institute (SARDI) to trial specific management practices based around remedial pruning and the use of different wound treatments.

Similarly, smoke taint remains very much on the radar. New research is being undertaken, seminars are planned, and Dr Krstic and his colleagues are working with fire and government authorities to ensure the interests of viticulturists are understood and respected in the implementation of the planned burn program in the state.

And on a positive note, there will be strong support for the continuing quest to make even better Pinot Noir in Victoria. The AWRI has already been involved in running rootstocks and clones workshop in the Yarra Valley and it will be a key player in the Victorian Pinot Noir Workshop from 23–24 November this year.

‘As well as providing workshop content we’ve made some pretty interesting experimental wines just for the event’, Dr Krstic said.