Science gives SA wine the global edge

Australian winemakers are set to benefit from cutting-edge science technology in Adelaide, promising to give them a global advantage in the development of wine.
The $2-million facility was launched last week by SA Science Minister, Paul Caica, at the University of Adelaide’s Waite Campus, Urrbrae.

It’s been jointly funded by Commonwealth and State Governments, under the National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy (NCRIS), as one of eleven major, science infrastructure projects being developed in South Australia.

The state-of the art Metabolomics facility, being housed and managed by the Australian Wine Research Institute, is located in the new $30m Wine Innovation Cluster.

Mr Caica says that with South Australia being the nation's biggest wine producer, the facility will stimulate business investment and jobs in the State.

"This facility will help develop innovative solutions for the Australian wine industry, with South Australia at its heart, in the form of improved quality, new varieties and better value wine," he said.

"The exciting new area of science called Metabolomics involves the comprehensive study of small molecules.

"The South Australian node will focus on microbial metabolomics, allowing winemakers to chemically define the unique characteristics and attributes of a particular wine or wine style.

"This will provide a much greater understanding of how variables, such as environmental conditions, genetic variations of vines, yeast and bacteria shape the sensory attributes of wines.

"The combination of this infrastructure, access to scientists working in this exciting new field, and a willingness by industry to take advantage of new technology and adopt new approaches, will put our wine industry in the world vanguard of wine-making."

South Australia’s metabolomics node will also be accessed by the broader food and beverage industries enabling them to tailor-make future products.