McEachern Presentation
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Impact of Research & Development on the World Wine Industry and How It Can Relate to Coffee George Ray McEachern Professor of Horticulture Global Coffee Congress Norman Borlaug Institute for International Agriculture TEXAS A&M UNIVERISTY College Station, Texas October 27, 2010 1. Wine has experienced tremendous change in the last 30 years: a. All wine had vinegar; today wines have no vinegar b. Cool Settling or Cold Soak prior to primary fermentation c. Temperature controlled Stainless Steel primary fermentation d. Cultured Yeasts e. Sterile Filtration; first in medicine, then beer, now wine for US market. f. Vine Canopy Management for the Perfect Shoot and Quality Wine 1. Vigorous Vines give vegetative aroma 2. Weak Vines have wine with less aroma, acid, taste, and body 3. Perfect Shoot vines have tonnage, quality, and long vine life. a. Sites in major regions of France a re examples b. Vigorous climates and soil need larger vines c. Low vigor climates and soil need smaller vines with less yield d. Sunlight affects vine vigor and fruit quality e. Pre-Harvest Hang Time affects fruit and wine qua lity 2. What is quality: a. Everyone knows a great wine. b. Wine quality is in the eye, nose, taste, mouth aroma, mouth feel, bitterness, and length of finish; it is very difficult to get it all. The finest wines are made in the vineyard via soil, climate, sunlight, freedom of rain, delayed harvest, and hand harvest. The techniques are always the same but some wines are better, most of the time. c. Four market wines; each with a different R&D needs: 1. Bulk wine; $1, grown, fermented, stored, and sold in bulk. Example: Central Valley of California or Medi French 2. Premium wine; $10, all mechanica l, always perfect at release Example: California Central Coast and Australia 3. Hand made wine; $20, minimum fixing at vine or winery. Example: Vineyard or Family wines; Dunn or A. Rafanelli
Transcript of McEachern Presentation
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Impact of Research & Development on
the World Wine Industry and How It Can
Relate to CoffeeGeorge Ray McEachern
Professor of Horticulture
Global Coffee Congress
Norman Borlaug Institute for International Agriculture
TEXAS A&M UNIVERISTY
College Station, Texas
October 27, 2010
1. Wine has experienced tremendous change in the last 30 years:
a. All wine had vinegar; today wines have no vinegar b. Cool Settling or Cold Soak prior to primary fermentationc. Temperature controlled Stainless Steel primary fermentationd. Cultured Yeastse. Sterile Filtration; first in medicine, then beer, now wine for US market.f. Vine Canopy Management for the Perfect Shoot and Quality Wine
1. Vigorous Vines give vegetative aroma2. Weak Vines have wine with less aroma, acid, taste, and body3. Perfect Shoot vines have tonnage, quality, and long vine life.
a. Sites in major regions of France are examples b. Vigorous climates and soil need larger vinesc. Low vigor climates and soil need smaller vines with less yieldd. Sunlight affects vine vigor and fruit qualitye. Pre-Harvest Hang Time affects fruit and wine quality
2. What is quality:
a. Everyone knows a great wine. b. Wine quality is in the eye, nose, taste, mouth aroma, mouth feel,
bitterness, and length of finish; it is very difficult to get it all. The finest wines are madein the vineyard via soil, climate, sunlight, freedom of rain, delayed harvest, and handharvest. The techniques are always the same but some wines are better, most of the time.
c. Four market wines; each with a different R&D needs:1. Bulk wine; $1, grown, fermented, stored, and sold in bulk.
Example: Central Valley of California or Medi French2. Premium wine; $10, all mechanical, always perfect at release
Example: California Central Coast and Australia3. Hand made wine; $20, minimum fixing at vine or winery.
Example: Vineyard or Family wines; Dunn or A. Rafanelli
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4. Icon wine; $100, ultra high price due to limited volume.Example: Ch. La Pin
3. Who Conducts Wine Research & Development:
a. Large Corporations; example, Gallo, Banfi, Franzia, etc
b. Research Centers at UC-Davis, Fresno State, Arkansas, Cornell,Washington State, Montipellier, Adelaide, etc.c. New techniques develop at private vineyards and wineries and as
vineyard managers and winemakers change jobs, the technology is spread around. Somefeel wine from some regions become clonal or cookie cutter with all tasting the same.
4. Who pays for Vineyard and Wine Research and Development:
a. In United States the USDA and States pay scientists salaries and provide office, lab, and field space. However specific project funding must come fromother sources such as industry or private gifts.
b. Higher education research has lost federal and state funding to greater
demands by society; terrorism, healthcare, employment, transportation, military etc.Production and processing research on how we prune grapes is not on the list; no production technique is on the list. Today, production and winemaking research receivesno state or federal funds. When special problems such as Pierce’s Disease threatens thesurvival of an industry, significant funding can result.
c. US Congress and States for decades have known tradition fundingwould end, and they have established two systems to provide help:
1. Agricultural crops such as cotton, beef cattle, wine grapes, or any crop can develop a Check Off where a referendum or vote by growers can be heldwith a small percentage of the sale price collected or taxed “if you would” to supportresearch, education, and promotion of the crop. These funds are vital for the support of long term research.
2. Agricultural corporations have imposed a self imposed check off or self tax for research. Welch Grape Juice is the ultimate example in Cornell of NewYork, U of Arkansas, Michigan State, and Washington State. All four have conductedlong term viticulture and enology research from their Welch check off funding.Michigan, New York and Washington State currently have a viable juice and jelly plantand continue to support and sustained University research to a point of world leadership.Welch closed the Arkansas juice plant in 1980 but continued to support viticultureresearch through 2002 because their mechanization work benefited all.
c. Other funding systems:1. Government support of viticulture and wine research is strong in
France, Germany, Switzerland, other European countries; however, Australia is the worldleader in gov’t support with a 50/50 long range plan. The Australian, NZ, and Chilianwine industries have become world leaders through specific and planned Governmentsupport.
2. Private support for crop R&D is possible. Individuals can andhave provided significant funding at all major research institutions. In California, prior togoing public Robert Mondavi Winery gave $25,000,000 to UC-Davis to totally rebuildtheir Department of Viticulture and Enology building, teaching facilities, and research
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laboratories. The Gallo Family has given significant funding to Fresno State Universityand Cal Poly for their viticulture and enology programs.
Foot Notes:
1. China will be demanding quality coffee in the future which could squeeze an alreadyshort supply and push prices beyond a reasonable wholesale value. There are morecitizens in China with expendable cash than there are citizens in the United States.
2. Research and Extension development of Basic Coffee Production Guidelines for publicuse are greatly needed.
3. Coffee demands for climate, soil, irrigation, Integrated Pest Management, altituderequirements, shading and photosynthesis, ripening physiology, mechanical harvesting,genetics, rootstocks, tree spacing, orchard floor care, and other cultural requirementsneed to be developed.
4. Contracts, protocol, and memorandums of understanding between coffee producingregions or countries or companies and the Texas A&M Borlaug Institute need to be insimple language, brief, specific, and backed by scientists who will individually do thework. This to say, more doing and less planning.
5. Plans being made here are for the coffee industry goals in year 2040.
6. Norman Borlaug’s personal philosophy was to create a crop environment which would bring employment and income to a third world country and at the same time supply foodfor the world. Therefore, new coffee production regions outside the classic coffeeregions could or may be needed.
7. All coffee producers will and can profit from fundamental grower accepted practicesdeveloped through industry wide support. There is ample opportunity for coffeecompanies to develop their own private proprietary findings and knowledge.
