Volume 2 Number 1 Spring 2010 The Future of Enology ...gwi.missouri.edu/publications/newsapril2010.pdfViticulture in India page 4 Introducing Marco LiCalzi Enology Program Director

Viticulture in India page 4

Introducing

Marco LiCalzi Enology Program Director

TheThe 20102010 ViticultureViticulture FieldField DayDay

&& otherother eventsevents

The Future of Enology Research & EducationThe Future of Enology Research & Education page 12page 12

Volume 2 Number 1 Spring 2010

The Institute for Continental Climate Viticulture and Enology College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources

P A G E 2

Viticulture in

India

Page 4

The Future of

Enology

Page 12

Winter Pruning

Workshops

Page 11

Inside

this issue

From the Director Dear Friends -

The growing season is begin-

ning and I am wondering

what happened to the first

three months of the year.

As I reflect upon the begin-

ning of 2010 it seems to

have flown by in a flurry of

activity. However, if the

first quarter is any indica-

tion, 2010 is unfolding as a

great year for the ICCVE.

In addition to teaching and

on-going research, exciting

things have been happening

here and throughout the

Missouri wine industry.

One of our critical goals

is to have a fully staffed pro-

gram by the end of this year.

In this newsletter, you will

read more about Dr. Marco

LiCalzi, our new Enology

Program Leader. An active

search is now underway for

the Enology Extension Asso-

ciate and we hope to begin

advertising for the Enology

Research Associate position

very soon. Tammy Jones

has joined our staff to assist

with outreach activities. She

will be working on the news-

letter, industry communica-

tions, workshops and field

days.

The University of Missouri

has designated a site on the

campus master plan for the

future Food and Wine Com-

plex which will house the

ICCVE, the food and wine

center and our experimental

winery. You‟ll be hearing

much more about this excit-

ing concept in the months to

come.

The 2010 Midwest Grape

and Wine Conference was

one of the best attended yet

and received great reviews

from attendees and present-

ers across the United States.

Our winter pruning work-

shops were well attended

and our new experimental

winery produced its first

batch of wines that were

featured in cultivar evalua-

tion wine tasting workshops

that were held in February

and March.

ICCVE has received na-

tional exposure and publicity

by being featured in several

articles in Vineyard and Win-

ery Management and Wines

and Vines. To further en-

hance communications with

the grape and wine industry,

we‟ve updated our website

and our newsletter. We

also have established a

presence on Facebook and

in the blogosphere.

All of this and more has

been packed into the first

90 days of the year. We

hope it‟s a harbinger of

more good things to come.

Despite all the excite-

ment, we‟re never too busy

to welcome your com-

ments and suggestions.

Please feel free to contact

me at

[email protected]

Or visit our website at

http://iccve.missouri.edu/

Sincerely,

Keith Striegler, PhD

Director, ICCVE

T H E M I D W E S T W I N E G R O W E R

Save the Date!

THE 2010

VITICULTURE

FIELD DAY

Tuesday, June 8th

Hermannhof Winery

Sponsored by the

Missouri Grapegrowers Association

and the ICCVE for details see

www.missourigrapegrowers.org or

iccve.missouri.edu

ICCVE Welcomes Marco LiCalzi

P A G E 3 V O L U M E 2 , I S S U E 1

The Institute for Continental

Climate Viticulture and Enology

welcomed Dr. Marco LiCalzi as

a new faculty member in Janu-

ary. Dr. LiCalzi will serve as

Enology Program Leader and

Assistant Research Professor.

“I am excited about this posi-

tion and the potential for the

study of continental climate

wine. We have a great team

here and the ICCVE has a

bright future.” said Dr. LiCalzi.

In 1995, LiCalzi received his

Ph.D. in pharmacology from the

Mario Negre Institute in Milan,

Italy and served in a three year

post-doctoral position in bio-

chemistry at Wake Forest Uni-

versity in North Carolina. Af-

ter further study in viticulture

and enology in Italy, Dr. Li Calzi

studied flavor chemistry as a

post-doctoral research assistant

at the University of California,

Davis in the Department of

Enology and Viticulture with

Hildegard Heymann.

Originally from Venice, Italy,

Dr. LiCalzi is looking forward

to the challenge of profiling and

improving Missouri wines. He

observes that Missouri vine-

yards share some characteris-

tics with northern Italy and

other European appellations.

“In northern Italy the weather

can impact the vintages from

year to year in ways you won‟t

see in a more moderate, coastal

climate. That is the challenge.

The beauty of the wine is in

that unpredictability.”

Dr. Li Calzi‟s work with the

ICCVE will include the flavor

analysis of various wine grapes

to help determine what cultural

practices and wine making

methods produce the best qual-

ity wines.

“Marco‟s expertise in flavor

and aroma analysis will be a

vital part of our research pro-

gram,” explains Dr. Keith

Striegler, Director of the IC-

CVE. “This research will have

tremendous benefit for Mis-

souri‟s vineyards and wineries,

as well as the entire region.”

In between teaching classes

to enology students and his

research, Dr. LiCalzi enjoys

spending his free time with his

wife, Marie-Aude and their dog,

Twix.

The Missouri Grape Growers

Association honored Jackie

Harris, Plant Sciences graduate

student, with its Association

Scholarship. Jackie also serves

as the ICCVE‟s Viticulture Ex-

tension Assistant and is con-

ducting research on grape root-

stocks.

Congratulations to both Jackie

and Eli on their accomplish-

ments.

Congratulations to Eli Berg-

meier, graduate student in Plant

Sciences and Viticulture Re-

search Specialist at the ICCVE

on being one of nine recipients

of $1000 scholarships awarded

by the American Society of

Enology and Viticulture, Eastern

Section (ASEV-ES) at their an-

nual conference held in Paines-

ville, Ohio. Eli‟s thesis research

involves the mechanization of

vineyards.

Scholarships & Awards

“the beauty of

the wine is in

that

unpredictability”

Viticulture in India

Grape cultivation is one of the most remunerative farming

enterprises in India. In rest of the world, grapes are grown

mainly for wine making. Contrary to this, in India remarkable

success has been achieved in table grape production and the

yield levels of fresh grapes are among highest in the world.

The total area of grape cultivation in India is approximately

62,000 ha with annual production of 1.6 million tons.

Cultivated grapes are believed to have been introduced into

the north of India by the Persian invaders in 1300 AD and

from there spread to rest of the country. Systematic grape

cultivation was initiated during the middle of the 20th cen-

tury. Prior to the 1990‟s grape were grown on their own

roots. Since most of the soils in India are free from phyllox-

era and nematodes, the use of rootstocks were not initially a

common practice. With the decline in productivity of grapes

in major grape growing regions of India owing to abiotic

stresses like drought and salinity, growers realized the impor-

tance of using drought and salt tolerant rootstocks.

In India, about 78% of the total production is used for fresh

consumption. Important export markets are the UK, Hol-

land, Germany and Middle East countries. About 17-20% of

grapes are used to produce raisins; with approximately 1.5%

being processed into juice and about 1% used for wine making.

Grape growing regions in India:

In India, grapes are being grown in variety of soil and cli-

matic conditions comprising three distinct agro-climatic

zones.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_wine)

Temperate and Subtropical zone:

This region comprises the Northern regions of Punjab,

Haryana, Western Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan correspond-

ing to 280 and 320N latitude. The soils are alluvial with high

water holding capacity. Vines undergo dormancy during

winter and bud burst begins in the first to second week of

March. The rains arrive in the first week of June, and there-

fore only 90-95 days are available from the initiation of

growth to harvest. Late season varieties like Thompson

Seedless are not successful in these regions due to its sus-

ceptibility to berry cracking and rotting during the rainy

season. Single pruning and single cropping is practiced in

this region. Early season varieties such as Perlette and

Beauty Seedless were popular in this region but their quality

and keeping ability left much to be desired. Hence, early

season varieties such as Flame Seedless with better charac-

teristics are becoming popular in this region.

T H E M I D W E S T W I N E G R O W E R

Dr. Satisha Jogaiah

Viticulture Postdoctoral Research Associate

Institute for Continental Climate Viticulture and Enology

University of Missouri, Columbia

P A G E 4

Hot tropical zone:

This region comprises the major grape growing districts of

Mid Maharashtra, North Karnataka and West Andhra

Pradesh corresponding to 150 and 200 N latitude. This is the

major grape growing region of the country with more than

80 percent of area under grape cultivation. Grapes don‟t

undergo dormancy in this region and hence, double pruning

and single harvest is being practiced in these regions. Maxi-

mum temperature goes beyond 420C during summer and

minimum temperature is around 4-80C in some locations

during winter. The major challenge in this region is water

scarcity and soil and water salinity. Thompson Seedless and

its clonal selections, Flame Seedless, Sharad Seedless (Syn:

Kishmish Chorney), Red Globe and Crimson Seedless are

the commercial cultivars grown in this region with more

than 90 % of area under Thompson Seedless and its clones.

Due to the increasing demand of wine industry, wine varie-

ties like Cabernet sauvignon, Chardonnay, Merlot, Shiraz

and Sauvignon Blanc are being grafted in larger areas.

Thompson Seedless grown in this region is highly suscepti-

ble to downy and powdery mildews. The inputs in terms of

recurring costs on plant protection in this region are as high

as 30 percent of cost of cultivation.

Mild tropical zone:

This region comprises some of the districts in the Southern

states of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh corre-

sponding to 100and 150N latitude. Maximum temperature in

this region does not exceed 36-370C with high humidity.

The incidence of grape disease is a major issue in this re-

gion. This was once the traditional area for juice grape culti-

vars such as Isabella and Muscat Hamburg. In recent years,

growers are experiencing good success in the production of

table grapes such as Thompson Seedless, Flame Seedless,

and Sharad Seedless. In some regions, two crops are pro-

duced per year while other regions produce grapes

throughout the year by staggering pruning operations.

Of the three zones, the hot tropical zone produces grapes

which meet standards of export quality for European mar-

kets and most of the grape research is concentrated in this

region.

Propagation:

With increasing awareness about the use of rootstocks to

overcome the adverse effects of abiotic stresses, grape

growers are employing rootstocks to produce grapes.

Grape rootstocks are propagated by hardwood cutting. Hard-

wood cuttings of rootstocks are treated with 1000 – 2000 ppm

of IBA and planted in rooting media to induce rooting. Most of

the commercial nurseries sell rooted cuttings of suitable root-

stocks. Rootstocks are planted in the vineyards and are in situ

wedge grafted with desirable scion varieties. Recently bench

grafts of wine cultivars are have become popular and some nurs-

eries attached to wineries are producing bench grafts which are

sold to growers.

Planting of rootstocks:

After clearing the weeds, shrubs and trees and leveling the land,

about 2.5 deep and 2.5 ft wide trenches are opened at desired

spacing between the rows (Usually 10 feet for table grapes and 8

feet for wine grapes) with trench openers during January and are

filled with soil, organic manure, and chemical fertilizers. This will

be done to loosen the soil surface in the root zone to facilitate

better spread of roots. Closed trenches are irrigated by flooding

to attain field capacity.

Later pits are opened on those trenches at desired spacing

(usually six feet for table grapes, 3-4 feet for wine grapes) and

rootstocks are planted in the pits. Rootstocks are raised for six

months with proper nutrient and water management practices.

Grafting:

Before grafting, rootstocks are trimmed off, retaining only two

pencil sized shoots (8 mm diameter) and in situ wedge grafting is

usually performed with desired commercial variety during mid

September to Mid October. A high percentage of graft failure

V O L U M E 2 , I S S U E 1

has been noticed in vineyards where grafting was performed

after October. This was attributed to low night temperature

of less than 150C during early November. Usually two

grafts are done per vine to assure better success. After

graft success and subsequent growth of grafts, only one graft

is retained.

Training Systems:

Bower system (closed canopy) of training was the common

practice in most of the vineyards established prior to 1990s.

This system of training can produce yields of up to 30 tons

per hectare. Unfortunately, it also has the disadvantage of

creating a microclimate favorable for the increased inci-

dence of diseases and pests. The spraying of plant protec-

tion chemicals using tractors is not possible with this system

of training. Even with manual spraying, effective spray cover-

age is difficult. In table grape production, use of growth

regulators is a common practice. The entire cluster on the

vine is manually dipped into a solution of growth regulators.

Often women laborers perform these tasks and the height

of the bower system made this difficult. At about 6 ft., the

average woman could not reach all the clusters on the vine

and the bower system would frequently cause neck strain

in the laborers. Hence, this system became unpopular and

now most of grape growers are training vines to Geneva

Double Curtain system (GDC).

Pruning:

In the initial two years after grafting, pruning and training

are restricted for establishing permanent frame work of

the vine which includes a trunk, two primaries and four

secondary (cordons). After two years of planting, regular

pruning is practiced. In major grape growing regions in

hot tropical climates, vines are pruned twice a year.

Back pruning or foundation pruning:

After harvesting (during the month of March), vines are

given a sort of rest for 3 – 4 weeks by withholding irriga-

tion. In the first week of April vines are severely pruned

leaving only the trunk, primary cordons and one or two

basal buds on the previous year‟s canes. During this time

cordon replacement will be done if there are cankers or

dead areas on cordons. Sprouting starts at about 10-15

days after pruning. Even though bud burst is not a prob-

lem during these months, vines grafted on some vigorous

rootstocks exhibit uneven bud burst, so bud breaking

chemicals which facilitate quick and uniform bud burst are

applied. Excess shoots are thinned out, retaining desired

numbers of shoots until maturity, at which time are re-

ferred to as canes. Fruit bud differentiation takes at about

45 – 50 days after pruning. Appropriate nutrient and wa-

ter management practices are utilized until forward prun-

ing.

Forward pruning or fruit pruning:

This pruning is usually done during last week of Septem-

ber to Mid October. If pruning is delayed beyond Octo-

ber, it results in delayed and uneven bud burst owing to

cool night temperatures. Matured canes are pruned leav-

ing the desired number of buds depending on cane thick-

ness. Usually Thompson Seedless is pruned at the 6-8 bud

level as the buds in this zone are more fruitful than basal

buds or buds at apical regions. In order to ensure uniform

and quick bud burst apical 2-3 buds are swabbed with bud

bursting chemicals such as Hydrogen Cyanamid (H2CN2)

Cultural Practices after Back Pruning (April to

September):

With in 24-48 hours after pruning spraying of copper

fungicide usually Bordeaux mixture (1%) is practiced

to kill the fungal spores surviving on vines

T H E M I D W E S T W I N E G R O W E R

P A G E 6

Application of more nitrogen fertilizer and less phos-

phorous and potassium fertilizers during 30 days after

pruning

Irrigating the vineyard as per the pan evaporation

reading as this season coincides with peak summer.

Spraying insecticides such as Carbaryl @ 2 g / l helps

to control flea beetle infestation during bud break.

After sprouting, when the shoots attain 5 - 7 leaf

stage, growth retardant chemicals like cycocel (CCC

@ 500 ppm) is sprayed to curtail vigor of shoots and

to improve fruit bud differentiation

Shoot thinning to maintain shoot density of 1.5 – 2.0

shoots per sq. ft of canopy helps to improve light

penetration into the canopy thus exposing buds to

sun light for better fruit bud differentiation

Application of Phosphorous fertilizer at 40 - 45 days

after pruning helps to improve fruit bud differentia-

tion.

Spraying cytokinin compounds like 6 BA (Benzyl ade-

nine) @ 10 ppm and Uracil @ 50 ppm at 40-45 days

after pruning also enhances fruit bud differentiation.

Shoot pinching retaining 12-15 leaves per shoot is a

common practice to divert food reserves to develop-

ing fruit buds.

Application of potassium fertilizers at 60-75 days

after pruning helps to attain cane maturity

Spraying copper fungicides like Carbendazim @ 1 g /

liter and sulfur fungicide @ 2 g / liter during cane

maturity to control anthracnose and powdery mildew

respectively

Foliar spraying of micronutrients or soil application

through fertigation helps to minimize their deficien-

cies.

Microscopic examination of buds to determine the

position of fruitful buds about 15 – 20 days before

pruning

About 8-10 days prior to forward pruning irrigation

will be stopped to create mild water stress. This

helps to shed leaves and activate buds. If leaves are

still persistent, leaves are removed either manually or

by spraying Ethrel (ethylene)

P A G E 7 V O L U M E 2 , I S S U E 1

Cultural practices after forward pruning (October

to March)

Swabbing of Hydrogen Cyanamid @ 1.5 % a. i (30

ml / liter) within 24 – 48 hours after pruning helps in

quick and uniform bud sprouting

Spraying Carboaryl @ 2.0 g / liter during bud swelling

stage helps to control flea beetle infestation.

Spraying Carbendazim @ 1.0 g / liter at 3 leaf stage

to control Anthracnose disease

Spraying Metalaxyl @ 2.0 g / liter helps to control

Downy mildew

Shoot and bunch thinning to maintain 1 shoot per sq.

ft and one bunch per 1.5 sq. ft. This will be done as

soon as panicles start emerging

Spraying GA3 @ 10 ppm immediately after emer-

gence of panicle (parrot green stage) helps for rachis

elongation

If bunch elongation is not satisfactory, second spray

of GA3 @ 20 ppm is repeated after 5-6 days of first

spray

Spraying Carbaryl @ 1000 ppm at 50 % flowering

stage helps to reduce berry set by flower thinning and

also controls some sucking pests. Spraying GA3 @ 30

ppm also helps in flower thinning

Maintaining adequate leaf area (12-15 leaves) per

shoot for proper nourishment of bunches. This is

achieved by shoot pinching at 12 leaf stage.

Dipping clusters with 25 – 30 ppm GA3 in combina-

tion of 2 ppm CPPU (Cytokinin compound) or 1 ppm

Brassinosteroid at 3-4 mm berry size (Sizing spray I)

Repeating the same dipping treatment at 8-10 mm

berry size (Sizing spray II)

Manual berry thinning and removing the bunch tip

and trimming the bunch shoulders after first GA3 dip

to avoid cluster compactness

At veraison stage vines are provided with sufficient

potassium and nitrogen fertilizers for proper bunch

development and to maintain good health of vines

Spraying Hexaconazole @ 0.5 ml / liter to control

late powdery mildew incidence during berry ripening

stage

Dipping of clusters with 1% Ca (NO3)2 solution for

P A G E 8

improving pedicel thickness

Spraying naphthalene acetic acid (NAA) @100 ppm to

reduce pre harvest berry drop

Sampling of berries to assess sugar and acidity to fix

harvesting date

Harvesting preferably during early hours to reduce the

field heat from bunches thus to avoid desiccation

Pre cooling of bunches in pre cooling rooms to reduce

berry temperature

Cleaning and trimming the bunches

Packing as per the specifications of destination market

Cold storage of the pallets till shipment

Diseases:

The major diseases affecting grapes in India are Anthrac-

nose, downy mildew and powdery mildews. Outbreak of

these diseases is highly weather dependent. Any slight fluc-

tuation in climatic conditions (temperature, humidity, rainfall

and leaf wetness) results in development of these diseases.

Hence, most of the grape growers undertake prophylactic

sprays for control. The National Research Centre for

Grapes, Pune has developed several disease forecasting

models to offer advice to growers to manage their vineyards

through prophylactic sprays based on the prevailing climatic

conditions. Weekly weather forecasts and chances of dis-

eases occurrence are uploaded on institute‟s website and

also communicated to growers through e mail and text mes-

sages on cell phones. Most of the diseases are controlled by

spraying effective contact and systemic fungicides.

Pests:

Grapes in India are infested by several pests. The flea bee-

tle, mealy bugs, thrips, red spider mites, jassids and stem

borers are the insects of major concern. Most of these

pests are controlled by following integrated pest manage-

ment strategies consisting of cultural, chemical and biological

components. A major component of this integrated pest

management is the use of effective, new generation pesti-

cides. Use of biological agents like Trichoderma harzianum,

Cryptolaemus montrouzeri (Australian lady bird beetle), Verti-

cillium sprays, etc., are gaining popularity to control these

pests. Some of the environmental friendly chemicals like

neem based pesticides and mineral oil sprays are finding a

place in the schedule of pest management practices to mini-

mize use of pesticides thereby reducing pesticide residues in

harvested grapes.

Raisin Industry in India:

In India, raisins are mostly produced in the Sangli, Solapur

and Nasik districts of Maharashtra state and in the Bijapur

district in Karnataka. Out of a total production of 1.6 million

tons of table grapes, around 15-17% of the fresh produce is

dried to raisins. In 2003, the raisin production reached to

65,000 tons, placing India 3rd in the world after USA and

Turkey.

Raisins are mostly produced from the Thompson Seedless

cultivar and its clonal selections such as Manik Chaman and

Tas – A - Ganesh. Evaluation of cultivars at the Germplasm

Repository of the National Research Centre for Grapes,

Pune has indentified E 12/7, E 12/3, Mint Seedless and KR

White as promising raisin varieties. The technique of raisin

production in India is mostly based on dipping of the har-

vested clusters in Australian dip emulsion, which contains

2.4% potassium carbonate and 1.5% ethyl oleate and subse-

quent drying in shade on an open tier system. Junoni, in

the Solapur district of state of Maharashtra has been se-

lected for establishment and promotion of large scale, grape

drying units because of its appropriate geological and

weather data. The location proved to be most suitable in

terms of latitude, longitude, rainfall, temperature, humidity,

and air velocity for drying the grapes by natural means.

Indian raisins comply with quality standards in terms of

physical, chemical and microbiological counts specified un-

der the Codex standard except in the number of cap stem

and stem pieces per unit quantity. The cleaning of Indian

raisins after drying the grapes is not efficient enough to

comply with the Codex standard and therefore improve-

ment has to be made in respect to the cleaning of raisins,

preferably by adopting mechanical means. Moisture levels

can also be low. Their texture and mouth feel can be hard

and and therefore to improve these qualities, moisture

needs to be increased to 15 - 16.5% . To raise the quality of

Indian raisins to an international standard, mechanical clean-

ing is essential and the drying has to be stopped when mois-

ture level reaches to 15 - 16.5%. Packaging and labeling has

also to be improved so that Indian raisins comply with inter-

national quality standards.

Indian Wine Industry:

The history of Indian wines goes back to ancient times,

though its peak era dates back to the period of British reign.

When the British emperors, through the British East Indian

Company, set up the Surat Factory during 1612 A.D, wine

T H E M I D W E S T W I N E G R O W E R

V O L U M E 2 , I S S U E 1 P A G E 9

started becoming much more familiar throughout India.

Just when production was rapidly picking up in India, the

phylloxera epidemic destroyed most of vineyards in India,

coinciding with the epidemic in Europe. Although the Euro-

peans replanted with grafted, resistant rootstocks, India did

not and the majority of wine consumed in India up until re-

cent years was imported. In the meantime beer, whisky and

brandy were becoming the most well known and popular

alcoholic beverages.

Rapid urbanization and growth in the retail market has

helped to drive the domestic demand for wine. Modern

food retail chains have made wine available for a new and

fast expanding consumer base. Favorable policy measures

announced by the government in recent years, such as ex-

cise duty exemption and provision of infrastructure facilities

such as wine parks and wine institutes, provided the neces-

sary boost to the industry for the establishment of wineries.

At present, the wine industry is in a rapid phase of growth

with more and more companies entering the industry.

These include small grape growers, advanced wineries, and

several national and international beverage companies.

Wine consumption in India is currently growing at a rate of

25-30% per year. Often the best wineries cannot keep

pace with the demand and some domestic wineries sell out

their entire stock on a yearly basis. It is expected that wine

consumption in India will grow ten fold reaching an average

consumption of approximately 60 million bottles in next 8-

10 years.

To meet the domestic and export demand for Indian wines,

quality wines comparable to international standards have to

be produced. To give impetus to the grape processing and

wine industry in the state of Maharashtra, the government

announced a comprehensive „Wine Policy‟ in 2001. In Sep-

tember of 2005 it established the „Maharashtra Grape

Board‟ especially to develop marketing channels for grape

products in the country. This government policy aims at

sustaining grape cultivation and the wine industry in India in

general and Maharashtra in particular. Hence, interest of

table grape grower is gradually switching over to wine varie-

ties.

The objectives of the Grape Board are:

1. To formulate a vision and action plan for the growth of

the Indian wine sector including research and development

for quality improvements and in new technologies/

processes.

2. Collaborate and advise wine-grape growers, wine proc-

essing industry, central and state governments on commer-

cial, regulatory and technical issues related to the Indian

wine sector, including best practices in viticulture.

3. Increase in farmers‟ income and employment opportuni-

ties, with a particular

focus on rural areas.

4. Encouraging cluster

farming, contract farm-

ing and farm diversifica-

tion. Promoting the

benefits of value-added

to farming communities

and assisting farmers

with fetching remunera-

tive prices for their

produce.

5. Coordinate with

premier Research and Development Institutes to identify

and develop appropriate root-stock and wine varieties of

grapes suited for different the geo-climatic regions of India.

Wineries in India:

Presently the three big wineries making premium wines in

India are Indage wineries (Pune), Sula Wineries (Nasik) and

Grover Vineyards (Bangalore). Some other major wineries

are ND Winery, Vintage Wineries, Sankalp Wineries and

Renaissance Wineries, all based in Nasik district. However,

more and more wineries are being set up with the aim to

produce quality wines of international standards. There are

more than 80 wineries operating in India, the majority con-

centrated in the state of Maharashtra. In the next few years,

there will be more than 100 wineries of varying sizes oper-

ating in the country. With government support and a re-

duction in duty taxes, the subsequent drop in prices could

lead to even greater growth in India‟s wine industry.

Currently, the industry is estimated to have a value of Rs

2.75 billion per annum. Although the industry is growing at a

rate of 25 to 35% per year (nearly three times as fast as the

beer industry), it still makes up less than one per cent of the

country‟s USD $1.8 billion alcohol market.

In 2007, India produced about 1.3 million cases (each hold-

ing nine litres) in addition to the 220,000 which were im-

ported, compared to less than 60,000 cases in 2001. In

2010, the market is expected to almost double, increasing

from five million to nine million litres (Source: Wines in

Asia)

“The Indian Government is

playing a crucial role in the

current phase of the Indian

wine industry, supporting

the current momentum

amongst others through

financial assistance and

market production”.

P A G E 1 0

T H E M I D W E S T W I N E G R O W E R

Problems faced by Indian wine Industry:

The popularity of wine has been hindered in India because

quality wines are priced relatively high. Since the volumes

are low, production costs are high and so are taxes.

An exorbitant 300 % duty slab on each bottle becomes a

major prohibitive factor for consumers under the current

domestic excise policy. . Major importers and Indian wine

makers are waiting for a revision of these policies which will

provide for freer and cheaper imports as well as opportu-

nity for Indian wines to be available easily all over the coun-

try.

Some of the other problems faced by Indian wine industry

are:

• Relatively high packaging costs – glass bottles, labels, foils

etc.

• Scarcity of water or unseasonal rains.

• Lack of widespread governmental assistance in supporting

wine sellers and bar owners.

• State governments have also imposed very high sales tax

on consumption of imported liquor in bars and restaurants.

Government initiatives to promote wine industry:

The government of the state of Maharashtra announced a

visionary grape policy which incorporates economic incen-

tives including a drastic reduction in excise duty on wines.

As a long term strategy for industry, a proposal to set up a

wine institute was made to ensure the maintenance of inter-

national quality standards and provide training for wine in-

dustry personnel. In this context, a grape and wine institute

has been set up at Indage Wineries, Narayangaon, Pune in

collaboration with the Australian government.

To encourage extensive research in various regions in the

state, an Agri Export Zone has been established in the dis-

tricts of Nashik, Pune, Solapur and Sangli and has been ap-

proved by the Ministry of Commerce. The Maharashtra In-

dustry Development Corporation (MIDC) has compli-

mented these government initiatives by setting up wine

parks with an internationally comparable infrastructure.

Following the initiative of Maharashtra state, the state of

Karnataka has also established The Karnataka Grape and

Wine Board with a headquarters in Bangalore. The Karna-

taka Grape and Wine Board has also outlined policies to

promote the wine industry in Karnataka and are planning to

establish two wine parks. Similarly, other states like Andhra

Pradesh and Tamil Nadu are following the footsteps of Ma-

harashtra to promote wine industry.

The Indian government is playing a crucial role in the cur-

rent developmental phase of the Indian wine industry, sup-

porting the current momentum amongst others through

financial assistance and market production. Gradual reduc-

tion of import duty levels will lead to increased competition

through imports, but will result in a competitive industry

that is able to export top quality products to overseas mar-

kets.

Wine grape regions in India:

The Indian sub-continent has four major wine producing

regions:

Nasik Region (Maharashtra): Western India, Nasik Valley

is 2000 ft. above sea level between 19.33‟to 20.53‟ North

latitude and 73.16‟ to 75.6‟ East longitude.

Sangli Region (Maharashtra State): South West Maharash-

tra, Latitude 16.52‟ North, and Longitude 74.36‟East longi-

tude. Both of these regions are extremely good for growing

grapes due to their monsoon rains, rich fertile soil and cool

climate. Most of the Indian Wineries are located in these

two regions including the largest Indage and Sula Vineyards.

Bangalore region (Karnataka State): South West, Latitude

12.8' North. Longitude: 77.37' East. Apart from being na-

tion‟s IT capital Bangalore because of its cool climate is suit-

able for grapes. Grover, the third largest wine producer of

India, has its winery situated in Dodballapur, 2000 ft above

sea level, 45 km North of Bangalore.

Himachal region (Himachal Pradesh): North India, 30.22‟

to 33.12‟ North Latitude and 75.47‟ to 79.04‟ East Longi-

tude. This region lies in the northern India and is at the

same latitude as of the South Californian, Texas and north

Florida wine grape growing region. Though this region is

well known for apples and cider some good wine is pro-

duced here. Temperature varies from 39° C in plains during

summer and - 20° C in the Alpine Zone during winters.

Rainfall varies from 152 cm to 178 cm in outer Himalayas.

Viticulture in India, cont.

Conclusion:

In India, the grape industry has tremendous potential for

increasing national wealth and thereby achieving social

and economic benefits. The potential benefits of grape

cultivation can be derived only by establishing the grape

processing industries, since this will improve the profit-

ability and sustainability of grape production. Research

on wine grape cultivation and wine making is still at in-

fancy stage. There is an immediate need to intensify the

research in all aspects of wine grape cultivation and wine

making to produce quality wines.

ICCVE Winter Pruning Workshops

Pruning is a cold but critical task

for vineyard owners during the

winter season. To assist growers

in learning techniques to optimize

quality and yield, the ICCVE con-

ducts winter pruning workshops

to provide hands-on demonstra-

tion and instruction.

The 2010 winter pruning work-

shops were held in February in

four locations in Missouri and

one in Arkansas. A total of 155

participants gathered at Hindsville

Farms in Hindsville, Arkansas, Les

Bourgeois Winery & Vineyard in

Rocheport; at the Platte County

MU Extension Office in Kansas

City; Robller Vineyard Winery in

New Haven and Chaumette Vine-

yards & Winery in Ste. Gene-

vieve. Andy Allen, Viticulture Extension Associate conducts a hands-on pruning workshop at Chaumette

Vineyards in Ste Genevieve, Missouri

P A G E 1 1

Look

for the

ICCVE

on Facebook

V O L U M E 2 , I S S U E 1

P A G E 1 2

The Future of Enology Research & Education by Tammy Jones

Is great wine always a matter of opinion? Your best

friend might suggest a particular vintage; Robert Parker

might proclaim a Cote du Rhone divine; the guy at the

wine shop may swear by a certain vineyard and your Un-

cle may turn down anything that doesn‟t come from a

box. When it comes to wine and wine making, there is

no shortage of viewpoints or of

sources that will offer them. Up

until recently, classifying what con-

stitutes a quality wine has largely

been a subjective process. While

personal preferences will always

impact and influence consumers,

the science of flavor chemistry

promises to alter the precept for

grape growers and wine makers in

ways that promise to ultimately

enhance their art.

“Flavor science has evolved to a

scientific discipline; to quantify,

analyze, and interpret reactions to

sensory characteristics. Flavor

chemistry uses analytical tech-

niques to investigate what specific

compounds exist in the wine,”

explains Dr. Marco Li Calzi, Enol-

ogy Program Leader at the ICCVE.

“Understanding this chemical compo-

sition and the mechanism of their

formation will eventually enable us to be able to recom-

mend specific cultural practices and winemaking methods

to enhance the quality of wine.”

The first step in this process for Li Calzi is to identify the

chemical compounds of specific continental climate varie-

tals. There are between one and twenty compounds that

may be responsible for the varietal aroma in wine. In the

lab, enology researchers can use gas chromatogra-

phy−olfactometry (GC-O) to identify those compounds

“above threshold” or what the human nose is capable of

detecting. Gas chromatography (GC) is a process that

can separate and analyze compounds without decomposi-

tion.

Gas chromatography−olfactometry adds a human element by

using trained personnel as “sniffers” who describe and iden-

tify the compounds that are separated by the device. “With

GC-O, we can usually identify 10-20 compounds that are

important to overall aroma of the wine being studied,” said

Dr. Li Calzi.

If those concepts and multi-syllable terms aren‟t daunting

enough for most non-chemists, enter

Headspace Solid-Phase Microextraction

Chromatography-Olfactometry-Mass

Spectrometry or HS-SPME-GC-MS. De-

signed to mimic the human nose, HS-

SPME-GC-MS is used together with GC-

O. While GC-O provides the link be-

tween the compound and what it smells

like to humans, HS-SPME-GC-MS allows

for the chemical identification of the

compound.

“HS-SPME-GC-MS is the gold standard

technique in analyzing compounds,” ex-

plains Dr. Li Calzi. HS-SPME-GC-MS

uses a polymeric fiber placed in the head-

space above a sample of wine. This fiber

acts much like the chemo-receptors in

the human nose and adsorbs the volatile

compounds for analysis. “It completes

the picture by allowing us to determine if

particular compounds are important to

the aroma of the wine.”

For the Midwest grape and wine industry,

this research will be ground-breaking.

“Very little research has been conducted and to date, there is

scant data available on the aroma profiles of Missouri varie-

tals,” said Dr. Li Calzi. The Institute for Continental Climate

Viticulture and Enology and Li Calzi will be pioneering this

research by first indentifying the key compounds in the varie-

tals. The next step in the research will be to begin trials on

specific cultural practices in the vineyard as well as specific

enological techniques that may impact laboratory findings.

That work will ultimately identify how to optimize the sen-

sory profiles of the wine. In the quest to continually improve

their craft, this information will be invaluable for growers and

winemakers alike.

A trained judge serves as the “sniffer” in

gas chromatography—olfactometry.

T H E M I D W E S T W I N E G R O W E R

University of Missouri-Columbia

108 Eckles Hall

Columbia, MO 65211

Vineyard Questions: [email protected]

Enology Research Questions: [email protected]

Viticulture Research/Administrative Questions: [email protected]

The 2010 Tailgate Meetings Have Begun!

Be sure to join us for the June meetings!

June tailgates will feature guest speaker,

Dr. Turner Sutton

Plant Pathologist with North Carolina State University and

recognized expert in late season bunch rots.

Details on meeting locations will be announced soon. Watch for email announcements and updates on our website for

further information on the June and July schedules.

http://iccve.missouri.edu