Steps to improve wine
LOCAL and visiting wine aficionados were led through a field day seminar at the Queensland College of Wine and Tourism on Wednesday.
The day provided an opportunity for industry personnel to speak on a range of topics that directly impact the Granite Belt and Australian wine industry.
Fresh from being crowned ASVO’s Winemaker of the Year, Mike Hayes was on hand to walk a number of visiting guest speakers and winemakers through the college’s vineyard.
“What we’ve had is an alternative variety field day seminar, which we hold annually for the Queensland Wine Industry Association,” Mr Hayes said.
“We had people who travelled from the South Burnett, Scenic Rim, Granite Belt and far out west Queensland at the town of St George. It’s a collection of industry experts.”
Vinehealth Australia CEO Inca Pearce, Kim Chalmers from the Chalmers Project in Mildura, and Penny Grant from Blackbird Bar and Grill Restaurant in Brisbane – a leading Australian sommelier, were three of the key speakers at the seminar.
“They’ve come down to give their thoughts on how we’re going with vine health, importation of different
varieties and, more importantly with Penny, it was about how our wines are perceived on the markets in and around Brisbane.
“It’s just great to see a collection of growers here walking through the vineyard.”
Each participant had to don special blue boots for biosecurity purposes.
“So we’ve had to walk through a chlorine bath to stop phylloxera vastatrix from getting into here and diseases,” Mr Hayes said.
“It’s really an important project for us and for the future of the Queensland wine industry and for the whole of Queensland, not just Granite Belt centric.”
Ms Pearce travelled from her base in South Australia to try to hammer home the importance of biosecurity measures.
“It was great, interactive, lots of questions and if I can get one vineyard owner or winery owner to change their habits then we’ve succeeded,” he said.
“Hearing back from people, they’ve said ‘we need to reassess what we’re doing’ and that’s just music to my ears.
“It’s really about getting out there to make sure the industry isn’t complacent about the exotic pests and diseases that we face and using it as a positive story.”