Talk to NZMS Scientific today about BRETT risk management P 09 259 4062 E nzms@nzms.co.nz W www.nzms.co.nz Now detects Pediococcus Lactobacillus 1.Smith MT. 2011. Brettanomyces Kufferath & van Laer 1921. In The Yeasts: A Taxonomic Study. See Kurtzman et al. 2011, pp. 983-86. 2.Mitrakul MC, Henick-Kling T, Egli CM. 1999. Discrimination of Brettanomyces/Dekkera yeast isolates from wine by using various DNA fingerprinting methods. Food Microbiol. 16:3- 14. 3.Zuehlke JM, Petrova B, Edwards CG. 2013. Advances in the control of wine spoilage by Zygosaccharomyces bailii and Dekkera/ Brettanomyces. Annu. Rev. Food Sci. Technol. 4:57-78. www.foodtechnology.co.nz 43 Out of the 5 known species of Brettanomyces1 only Brettanomyces bruxellensis is associated with wine spoilage.1,2,3 TEST ONSITE IN LESS THAN 4 HOURS Now available for Pediococcus and Lactobacillus vinoBRETT is the only test specific for Brettanomyces bruxellensis which means you’ll only test positive if your wine is at risk. www.pros.co.nz Coming soon to PACIFIC RIM Blenheim OENOLOGY SERVICES 9000 577 - 03 FT029 launched their own brand Blank Canvas, and they haven’t done it the easy way. For the 2014 Blank Canvas Syrah, they sourced some special fruit from a single vineyard in Hawke’s Bay’s Gimblett Gravels and co-fermented it with 7.5% Gruner Veltliner skins. “I don’t believe this has been done anywhere in the world,” Thomson says, “and unfortunately I can’t patent it, but I can say I did it fi rst! “I’ve co-fermented these two varieties because I believe Gruner Veltliner is a better aromatic white variety to match with Syrah. You still get the wonderful co-pigmentation effect that Viognier gives, but you get nicer phenolics from the skins and less confected aromatic notes.” He must have done something right. New Zealand Master of wine Bob Campbell calls the Syrah a complex wine with serious potential. It’s obvious that Thomson’s aim is to break some rules with his wine but, in order to break the rules, clients need to know them. This, he says, is what sets Blank Canvas wines apart. As a young winemaker (International White Winemaker of the Year at the international Wine and Spirits Competition in 2008), Thomson wanted his fi rst wine to be the greatest the world had ever seen. But his amassed experience working as a consultant meant he knew great wines are never made overnight. “A great winemaker knows intimately the vineyards he or she draws fruit from – they recognise the bearing of its microclimate and the nuances of the fruit it yields,” he says. “This knowledge then gifts that winemaker the tools to express through the wine the precise place it came from.” So why the name Blank Canvas? Well, it represents Thomson’s story as a winemaker. Having worked more than 40 vintages in vastly different wine regions around the world, this is an endeavour that relies totally on him, it’s his expression, he funds it and it’s exclusively his risk. Blank Canvas is about creating alternative styles of wine, using exceptional varieties and unprecedented techniques, he says. The couple have high expectations for both their wine and their consultancy. Blank Canvas is going to push the boundaries of what is the norm of winemaking, a chance to experiment and draw inspiration from the wines of the world they love. Kiwi-Oeno offers them the chance to bask in the success of their clients, who come from all over the world…Hawke’s Bay, Gisborne, Central Otago, Southern France, Italy, Spain, Hungary and Chile. Part of his success is a fairly straight-forward recognition of new grape varieties. “My approach to tackling new varieties is simple,” Thomson says. “Taste them on the vine, chew the skins, taste other examples around and learn the strong points and pitfalls.” He calls his 2013 Blank Canvas Gruner Veltliner a crisp, aromatic fruit profi le of mandarin and delicate white pepper; his 2013 Riesling brims with fl avours of old-fashioned lemonade, lime and honeysuckle; and his 2014 Pinot Noir is a blockbuster with fi nesse, elegance and power. “Obviously this is a new venture, so we are hoping to be on a trajectory of success from this point on,” Thomson says. “An international view of winemaking – both old and new world – helps, and it is defi nitely a theme amongst the wines in the range. “My science background defi nes the parameters of my winemaking canvas, allowing creativity to fl ow within those blank bounds with brush and palette. Blank Canvas is about creating alternate styles of wine using exceptional varieties and unprecedented techniques.” Kiwi-Oeno Clients include: Saint Clair Family Estate, Marlborough Lake Chalice Wines, Marlborough Tinpot Hut, Marlborough Craggy Range, Marlborough Luis Felipe Edwards, Casablanca, Chile Tokaj Kereskedohaz, Tokaj, Hungary Liberty Wines, London.
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