Juliet Henderson, Grower Liaison Officer from Yalumba, visits Northern Spain and France
A small group of Yalumba viticulturists and winemakers guided 26 growers from the Barossa, King Valley, Adelaide Hills and Riverland on a study tour across Northern Spain and France during late August this year. With a heightened interest in alternative varieties amongst many Australian wine companies and growers, the tour proved timely in increasing the growers' understanding of how these varieties are grown in their place of origin. Learning about the unique practices for Tempranillo grape production and winemaking through Rioja and Ribera Del Duero showed how growers in these regions are heavily restricted by the rules that govern the Denomination of Origin wines whilst reinforcing the advantages that Australia benefits from its progressive attitude and technologies; in particular, the use of mechanised practices.
Growers in these regions, although generally very traditional in their practices, with dry-grown, handpicked bush vines and heavily cultivated soils, are seeing a gradual shift with the Universidad de La Rioja and other research groups including ITACyL encouraging grower trials such as the use of cover crops, mulching and leaf removal (on trellised vines) for quality improvement. It will be interesting to see in time if these traditional grape growing communities gradually adopt more of these new-world practices from countries like Australia.
The group visited some remarkable wine locations and overall the trip was an inspiring and rewarding tour and we look forward to sharing more of the knowledge and experiences of our growers and staff.