The Australian Wine Industry Technical Conference is the premier technical event for the Australian wine industry. Held every three years since 1970, it combines an extensive program of plenary sessions, workshops, posters, student forum and social events with the industry’s most respected and extensive trade exhibition.

The Australian Wine Industry Technical Conference Inc. has two members: The Australian Wine Research Institute and the Australian Society of Viticulture and Oenology.

2019 AWITC and WineTech

This year the planning committee  ensured that we had prime placement, just a few steps from the dining area and in close proximity to the AWRI stand to take advantage of good traffic flow. The strategic alignment with Australian Grape and Wine and Wine Australia allowed us to invest in a bigger trade stand, sharing the cost  is a clever move. The booth featured a vineyard picture with  each organisations logo and corporate colour above.

Promoting the Society through scarves payed off, it helped to ensure that delegates were aware of ASVO members presence and increased the status of the Society. “We are proud to have been able to send out strong signals to the sector that the professional Society is increasing in members and capacity to deliver meaningful benefits for members.”

Our trade space quickly filled up with delegates, who engaged in conversations with ASVO Directors, Fellows and award recipients who passionately answered all the questions. This interaction, the openness, the honesty and the passion created an exciting atmosphere, and demonstrated the benefit of membership.

ASVO Promotional Items
 L-R Louisa Rose Chris Brodie Wendy Cameron and Richard Fennessy
Tony Bataglene and Brian Croser 

 

 

2019 Fresh Science

The Australian Society of Viticulture and Oenology (ASVO) was a proud sponsor of the prizes for the ‘Fresh Science’ sessions, held during the 17th Australian Wine Industry Technical Conference (AWITC) in Adelaide.
One of the most popular sessions at the technical conference are the Fresh Science sessions that showcase research from up-and-coming researchers. The ASVO sponsor two prizes for the best research presentations.

Caroline Bartel, a Scientist at the Australian Wine Research Institute (AWRI) was awarded for her research on Brettanomyces bruxellensis becoming more tolerant to sulphur dioxide (SO2). Ms Bartel shared results that demonstrate that the spoilage yeast B. bruxellensis has the potential to develop SO2 tolerance in wine and suggests that the wine industry should carefully consider alternative strategies for controlling B. bruxellensis.

The second award went to Dr Harley Smith, a Team Leader in the Wine Grapes and Horticulture Group at CSIRO Agriculture and Food. Dr Smith said that the majority of commercial rootstocks currently available for planting were not optimised for Australian conditions and potentially had insufficient resistance to phylloxera and root knot nematode. Dr Smith said that “the goal of the CSIRO Rootstock Breeding Team is to develop elite rootstocks with new pedigrees in order to provide effective resistance to phylloxera and root knot nematode”.

Winners received a $500 cash prize, complimentary membership to the Society and a coveted ASVO scarf.

The 2019 winners are as follows:  

 Caroline Bartel
Dr Harley Smith