While Tasmania’s sparkling wine lovers are gearing up for a bubbly weekend, the state’s wine producers were honing their skills to ensure their wine stayed at the top of wine lists.
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More than 20 producers met at Tamar Ridge, Grindlewald, for the Effervescence Tasmania technical day on Thursday, ahead of the public events across the weekend.
Technical adviser Maximilien Bernardeau came to Australia for a series of sparkling wine events, including Effervescence Tasmania, and shared his technical expertise with the group.
A sparkling wine expert from the Champagne region, Mr Bernardeau works with large sparkling wine houses and small producers in France, USA and the UK.
He said winemaking techniques, grapes and methods all created different wines.
“There is so much difference between blends and ageing from 15 months up to 10 years. Sometimes the wine has more fruit or is more acidic,” Mr Bernardeau said.
Sparkling wines are aged for at least 15 months in Champagne, but many producers want to reduce that time.
“There are two main questions: how can I reduce ageing and what is the impact of this? I’ll be giving tips on how to do that and what happens,” Mr Bernardeau said.
Tasmanian Institute of Agriculture wine researcher Dr Fiona Kerslake used the technical producer’s day to conduct research tastings for her Wine Australia research project.
“Last year at Effervescence we tasted wine from trials in 2010 and now we’re tasting wine from the same trials, but from the 2011 season,” Dr Kerslake said.
“The 2010 season was hot and dry, but 2011 was cool and wet so we’re looking at taste difference when you take the leaves off the vines, change crop loads and prune vines,” she said.
The original vineyard trials were funded by the Tasmanian wine industry and a federal grant, so it gave producers who participated in the trials the chance to taste the results.
“I love getting the industry in the room and talking about it. We’re doing applied research and it’s something they can use,” Dr Kerslake said.
Josef Chromy Wines chief winemaker Jeremy Dineen said wine producers were enjoying the opportunity to taste unfinished wines and compare notes.
“It is designed to be an open forum to improve Tasmanian sparkling wines,” Mr Dineen said.
“We’re seeing differences from one vintage to the next with different crop levels and flavours each year,” he said.
Tickets are still available to Effervescence Tasmania Grand Tasting garden party on Saturday afternoon at Josef Chromy Wines lawns.