Grower, Maker, Researcher - Wine Industry Insights

Welcome to the 2026 Growing Season Review. In this episode, hosted by Colin Hinze, members come together to share their experiences from the season — the successes, the challenges, and everything in between. We talk about what worked, what didn’t, and the lessons that can help you plan for the year ahead. Whether you’re looking for practical tips or just want to hear real stories from the vineyard, this discussion is packed with insights straight from the people on the ground.

This podcast focuses on the latest developments around detection and monitoring of grey mould. Detection of grey mould of grapes is problematic as the fungus is often hidden from sight within the interior of the grape bunch. Professor Chris Steel discusses the limitations of visual assessment for grey mould and shares results on alternative methods which provide better detection and quantification of the fungus.

In this episode, Ian Thomas from the Bureau of Meteorology explains “My Climate View” - an online service which allows vineyard managers to see long term projections of relevant key indices for anywhere in Australia. ‘My Climate View’ is a collaboration between the CSIRO and the Bureau of Meteorology, as part of the Climate Services for Agriculture program funded by the Australian Government's Future Drought Fund. This ASVO podcast is funded with support from Wine Australia.

This episode continues our previous chat on understanding smoke taint. This episode's focus is on best practices for mitigating the effects of smoke taint. Our guests, Professor Kerry Wilkinson, Dr Julie Culbert and winemaker Alex Cassegrain. This episode is a collaboration between The University of Adelaide, Waite Research Institute and ASVO.

North-East Victoria is one of the most bushfire-prone wine regions in Australia. It is now home to the world’s first smoke sensor network which is dedicated to monitoring smoke taint risk in vineyards. The network builds on over 10 years of research by Ian Porter of La Trobe University, which links smoke measurements to smoke taint risk for grapes and wine. Dean Cleave-Smith, of the King Valley, says it is a game-changer for the industry.

Cool climate post-harvest care

Hunter-based Liz Riley generally experiences the earliest harvests in the country, so the key challenge is to manage growth, pests and even weeds up to 12 weeks before the vines go dormant. The objective is to ensure leaves stay in good condition generating carbohydrates for the following season without applying nutrition to the vineyards because of the growth issues.

This podcast gives both a viticulturist and researcher’s experience with managing grape maturity variability and management systems that have potential to modulate grape maturity variability at the time of harvest, as well as the effects on red wine flavour and aroma profiles. PhD student, Claire Armstrong from The University of Adelaide, viticulturist, Pete Balnaves from Balnaves of Coonawarra, and Dr David Jeffery, Associate Professor in Wine Science, The University of Adelaide.

This podcast looks at irrigation efficiency and explains the importance of system maintenance and how using data from weather stations, soil moisture probes or plant sensors can reduce water use by 40–75 per cent without affecting yield or quality. Kristy Bartrop, Viticulture Technical Manager at Casella Family Brands and Dr Vinay Pagay, Senior Lecturer in Viticulture at the University of Adelaide