A former winemaker and now wine researcher from the Tasmanian Institute of Agriculture is among 14 winners of the Federal Government’s Science and Innovation Awards.

Recipient of the Wine Australia award, Rocco Longo is building an instrument that will attach to a grape press and tell winemakers when it’s time to stop squeezing juice from grapes by measuring the amount of phenolics from seeds and skin.

Longo said the instrument was designed to take the guesswork out of creating sparkling wines.

“The more you press, the more phenolics you are able to extract”, he said.

“Phenolics are good, from one side. From the other side, if you produce sparkling wine or white wine you don’t want too much phenolics because they give you that gritty mouthfeel when you drink the wine.”

To stop pressing at just the right time, winemakers currently have to taste juice at regular intervals.

“There are so many factors that can influence the winemaker’s testing,” Longo said.

“Like if the winemaker is unwell that day how can they actually test the juice in a reliable manner?

“Or if it’s too cold or too warm, this also can have an impact on the sensory test.”

Longo’s device uses spectroscopy to determine the concentration of phenolic compounds in the juice.

This information is then fed back to the winemaker in real time.

Longo grew up in Italy and studied viticulture and winemaking at the University of Turin before moving to Australia 10 years ago.

He worked as an oenologist in Victoria’s Alpine Valley for more than four years and is currently pursuing postdoctoral research in Pinot Noir provenance and sparkling wine at the Tasmanian Institute of Agriculture in Launceston.

Longo’s device will initially be designed for sparkling wines, and will be trialled in a commercial winery.

Minister for Agriculture and Water Resources David Littleproud said the winners of the Science and Innovation Awards would receive grants of up to $22,000 to further develop their ideas and boost Australia’s agriculture sector; “these innovators are the ones who’ll keep Australian agriculture at the cutting edge”.

The Science Awards will be presented at a gala dinner as part of ABARES Outlook conference 2019 from March 5-6 in Canberra.

For more information visit: http://www.agriculture.gov.au/abares/conferences-events/scienceawards