The Australian Society of Viticulture and Oenology (ASVO) is pleased to announce the 2020 Awards for Excellence research award winners.

• Dr Peter May Award – Dr Marcos Bonada, PIRSA-SARDI
• Viticulture paper of the year Award – Dr Rob Walker, CSIRO
• Oenology paper of the year – Dr Vanessa Stockdale, Accolade

The Dr Peter May Award was introduced in 2018 by the ASVO to honour the late Dr Peter May who was the foundational editor of the Australian Journal of Grape and Wine Research (AJGWR). The award is presented to the author(s) of the most cited original research paper published in the Australian Journal of Grape and Wine Research in the previous five years. Dr Marcos Bonada, from the Department of Primary Industries and Regions, South Australian Research and Development Institute (PIRSA-SARDI), was honoured to receive this award in 2020.

Dr Bonada’s paper ‘Impact of elevated temperature and water deficit on the chemical and sensory profiles of Barossa Shiraz grapes and wines’ doi:10.1111/ajgw.12142, was published in the AJGWR in 2015. The paper reports the results of an investigation anticipating a drier and hotter climate in the Barossa Valley and provides industry with indications of a shift in wine profiles that would require technological innovation to maintain the identity of Barossa Shiraz.

The Viticulture and Oenology research papers of the year are conferred annually to authors of exceptional research articles published in the Australian Journal of Grape and Wine Research. The winners are selected by committees of industry experts based on the potential impact of the research viticultural or oenological practices in Australia. The research paper awards are sponsored by Wiley.

The Viticulture Paper of the Year was awarded to Dr Rob Walker, from the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) and was titled: ‘Effect of rootstock on yield, grape composition and wine sensory attributes of Shiraz grown in a moderately saline environment’  doi.org/10.1111/ajgw.12409

The award selection committee said, “The findings in this paper have enormous relevance to the next 10 years of viticulture in Australia as we try to address the various issues of rootstock suitability and water in most Australian regions”.

The Oenology paper of the year was awarded to Dr Vanessa Stockdale, from Accolade for the paper entitled, ‘Carrageenans as heat stabilisers of white wine’ doi.org/10.1111/ajgw.12411

Dr Stockdale’s paper was selected by the committee because it demonstrated that carrageenans (polysaccharides that are extracted from red edible seaweeds) can be effective at heat stabilising white wines without a negative impact on sensory properties and may become a useful alternative to bentonite.

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