42 DRINKtech APRIL 2017 NEW ZEALAND “For Brancott Estate, it began when we first planted vines in 1973,” chief winemaker Patrick Materman says. “For Church Road, it goes back even further, as one of the oldest wineries in New Zealand and the first to craft high-quality wines in the style of the great wines of France.” One of the largest innovation programmes in recent years has been the ‘icon’ project, creating a Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc that would rival the top wines around the world. “We started this project by questioning every aspect of the winemaking process, from the soil the vines were planted in through to the time in bottles before the wine was made available,” Materman says. “We undertook an extensive research programme on thiols, the compounds in Sauvignon Blanc that give its distinctive aromatics, looking at how the grapes were harvested, pressed and fermented. This knowledge around thiols has had a major influence on our icon wine Brancott Estate Marlborough Chosen Rows and also on other expressions such as our naturally lighter in alcohol wine range Brancott Estate Flight and oak-influenced Fumé Blanc. Having this detailed and robust understanding of our region and our ‘raw ingredients’ has allowed us to take advantage of this trend.” Another recent innovation involves ‘barcoding’ of vineyard blocks at harvest time. Adapting technology from the supermarket industry, the system uses electronic shelf labels to allow crop data to be updated instantaneously from the winery system, resulting in more accurate and accessible data across all stages of harvest. “We only have around six weeks to pick all the fruit for the year,” Materman says. “If, like us, you have different varietals and vineyards in numerous locations, there is a lot of information to decipher in order to make the best picking Ideas that made the Winexplorer innovation challenge finals included: • An app that crowd sources ratings for winery experiences and creates self-drive tours • Screwtap technology to enhance flavours and aromas to individual tastes • Wirelessly integrated stoppers to monitor quality of opened wine • A cellar management system using storage conditions to determine when each bottle is at its peak • An online self-directed wine tasting experience for consumers to discover new wines and regions. INNOVATION INSPIRATION Innovation is at the heart of Pernod Ricard Winemakers New Zealand. From planting wild flowers to encourage bees and cut mowing costs, to barcoding vineyard blocks at harvest time, innovation has been a key driver for the company throughout its history. decisions.” The barcoding system was the brainchild of staff in Marlborough, who won a Patrick Ricard Entrepreneurship Award (PREA) for their innova
FT-Apr17-eMag
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