Board members Ms L.E. Rose, Ms W. Cameron, Dr D.L. Johnson, Dr S.C. McNab, BAppSc (Oen), BSc, GAICD BAppSc (Biochem and Microbiol), BSc (Hons), PhD, MBA, GAICD BAgSc (Hons), PhD Chair – Elected a member under MSc, BAppSc (Wine Sci), MW, Ex officio under Clause 25.2 (a) of Elected a member under Clause Clause 25.2 (c) of the Constitution GradDip (Ed), GradCert (Bus) the Constitution as Managing 25.2 (c) of the Constitution Elected a member under Clause Director of the AWRI (until 31 December 2017) Mr T.J. Bekkers, 25.2 (c) of the Constitution BAppSc (Ag) (Hons), (from 1 January 2018) Mr I.M. Jones, Ms E.A. Riley, Grad Cert (Mgt) BSc, MSc BAppSc (Wine) Elected a member under Dr J.S. Harvey, Elected a member under Clause Elected a member under Clause Clause 25.2 (c) of the BSc (Hons), PhD, MBA, GAICD 25.2 (c) of the Constitution 25.2 (b) of the Constitution Constitution Elected a member under Clause (from 1 January 2018) 25.2 (c) of the Constitution Mr M.R. Watson, Mr B. Bryant, Prof. K.D. Kirk, BEc, MBA, CA, RITP, MAICD BSc (Oen) Mr K.R. Horton, BSc (Hons), PhD, DPhil Elected a member under Clause Elected a member under Clause BAppSc (Wine Sci) Elected a member under Clause 25.2 (b) of the Constitution 25.2 (c) of the Constitution Elected a member under Clause 25.2 (b) of the Constitution (until 30 June 2018) 25.2 (c) of the Constitution (until 31 December 2017) The company The Australian Wine Research Institute Ltd was incorporated on Integrity 27 April 1955. It is a company limited by guarantee that does not • Accountability to stakeholders have a share capital. • Dealing honestly, impartially and consistently • Scientific and professional rigour The Constitution of The Australian Wine Research Institute Ltd (AWRI) sets out in broad terms the aims of the AWRI. The AWRI’s activities are guided by its business and research, development Passion and extension plans, and its stated mission, values and behaviours: • Enthusiasm for our people, our industry and our products • Spirit of creativity • Enjoying work and celebrating achievements Mission • Desire to do better • Pursuing knowledge and understanding Supporting the Australian grape and wine industry through world class research, practical solutions and knowledge transfer. The AWRI’s laboratories and offices are housed in the Wine Innovation Central Building within an internationally renowned research cluster on the Waite Research Precinct at Urrbrae in the Adelaide foothills. Values Grape and wine scientists from other organisations are co-located with the AWRI in the Wine Innovation Central Building. Values provide guidance in how it will deliver on its mission. These values are: The Waite Research Precinct is also home to other research and teaching organisations including: Australian Centre for Plant Func- • Excellence tional Genomics (ACPFG), Australian Genome Research Facility • Integrity (AGRF), Australian Grain Technologies (AGT), Australian Plant Phe- • Passion nomics Facility, the Centre of Excellence in Plant Cell Walls, CSIRO, South Australian Research and Development Institute (SARDI), the University of Adelaide’s School of Agriculture, Food and Wine and Behaviours the Waite Research Institute. Behaviours in support of those values are: Registered office Excellence Cnr Hartley Grove and Paratoo Road, Urrbrae, SA 5064 • Outcomes focused, delivering results Postal address: PO Box 197, Glen Osmond, SA 5064 • Personal mastery – being the best one can be Telephone: (08) 8313 6600 • Asking and answering the right questions Fax: (08) 8313 6601 • Relevant to industry Internet: www.awri.com.au • Collaborating to achieve faster, better or cheaper outcomes Facebook: www.facebook.com/The.AWRI Twitter: www.twitter.com/The_AWRI ABN: 83 007 558 296 AWRI Annual Report 2018 1 Contents Chair and Managing Director’s report 2 Board notes 5 Highlights of the year 8 Staff 15 Staff activities 19 Progress reports 21 Customers, consumers and markets 21 Extension, adoption and education 23 Performance, products and processes 30 Environment, sustainability and natural capital 45 Foundational data and support services 50 Financial statements – Directors’ report 57 Notes to and forming part of the financial statements 63 Memorial funds 72 Appendix 1 External presentations 74 Appendix 2 Events organised 82 Appendix 3 Posters 85 Appendix 4 Teaching responsibilities 85 Appendix 5 Student supervision responsibilities 86 Appendix 6 Media interviews 87 Appendix 7 Papers published 88 Staff photograph 92 64th Annual Report – 30 June 2018 Presented to the Australian grape and wine community AWRI Annual Report 2018 1 Chair and Managing Director’s report This has been a positive year for the Australian grape and wine community. Prices paid for wine-grapes have been increasing and Australian wine exports growing. The world’s wine buyers and consumers are becoming more aware of what Australia’s wines have to offer. Innovation across the value chain is a key part of this story – from improved understanding of planting material or efficiencies in wine production right through to Louisa Rose new ways to showcase Australian wines in major markets. These positive developments provide our industry with some important opportunities. Now is the time to think about the decisions that will help maintain sustainability and prosperity in the long term – decisions to support the AWRI Directions mechanisms that have underpinned the current successes and that will At the AWRI, this has been the first year of a new AWRI RDE plan and help us to adapt to the increasing rate of global change. investment agreement with Wine Australia. Good progress has been made across the suite of new projects, with project highlights summa- The Australian wine industry cannot isolate itself from global move- rised later in this document. To complement the RDE plan, in 2017/2018 ments in agriculture and technology. As with other sectors, disruption the AWRI developed a new set of business and operational initiatives, is inevitable and can happen incredibly quickly. It is important for us AWRI Directions, to guide its activities from 2018 to 2020. These initia- to stay aware of developments in areas such as artificial intelligence, tives are clustered under four key themes: automation and the changing nature of the human workforce, so that we are not caught out or left behind and instead can benefit from the 1. World-class people and culture changes that are coming. 2. Expand the funding base and economic flexibility of the AWRI The AWRI strives to take a long-term view when planning future activities. Industry needs to transcend governmental or classical RDE 3. Improve infrastructure, systems and processes funding cycles. The need to plan for the future is now supported by the eight-year timeframe of the current RDE plan and the associated 4. Build/retain relationships, strategic capabilities, services long-term funding agreement signed with Wine Australia. The longer and partnerships. horizon adopted provides flexibility for the AWRI to deliver meaning- ful outcomes for industry in the short term while providing scope for AWRI Directions has been developed to ensure that the AWRI’s governance, some ‘slow burn’ projects to be supported – the latter may have the systems, infrastructure and service offering all continue to reflect best greatest impact in the long run. practice and remain up to date with changes occurring in the wine industry, research and business. Major events, such as the Australian Wine Industry Technical Conference, provide opportunities for members of our industry to come together to discuss important issues, to gain insights from outside perspectives and to Increasing efficiency make sure the big picture isn’t lost among the busy day-to-day priorities. The AWRI continually monitors its overall efficiency and its associated The AWRI, with its partner ASVO, has made significant progress on plan- ability to deliver value for levy payers. Analysis of staffing statistics from ning for the 17th AWITC, which will be held in Adelaide in July 2019. A new the past five years shows a continuing increase in the proportion of partnership has been signed with the Wine Industry Suppliers Association AWRI staff working in scientific and industry service roles. While there is a and Fair Events to deliver the trade exhibition under the WineTech banner. natural limit to the gains to be realised by seeking efficiency in adminis- This complements the previous partnerships with the Winemakers’ trative support roles without compromising RDE outcomes, this general Federation of Australia Outlook Conference and McWilliam’s Maurice direction assists the available industry levies to work as hard as possible. O’Shea Award dinner, which all come together to make the AWITC a ‘must-attend’ event for the grape and wine community. Some new themes will be explored at the 17th AWITC, including the importance of Sustainability diversity to our continuing success, the growing field of AgTech and the This year has seen major steps forward in the area of sustainability, a future of winemaking technologies. topic linked to many elements of grape and wine production 2 AWRI Annual Report 2018 (many with a technical focus) and an area of interest in some markets and consumer segments. For the past 18 months a national steering committee with members including representatives of the AWRI has been working to improve the way sustainability programs are deliv- ered to the Australian grape and wine sector. In August last year the steering committee commissioned an independent review of the current global sustainability landscape. The review sought to understand the global drivers for sustainability and international demand for demonstration of sustainability credentials. It also explored questions of what an Australian grape and wine sector sustainability program should look like, any barriers to adoption of such a program and, importantly, how Australian wine’s sustainability credentials should be communicated to the market.