A grant from the Federal Government will help Australian winegrowers access to an infield monitoring system that informs growers in real-time whether the smoke from a bushfire or controlled burns is likely to taint their winegrapes.
The Wine Industry Smoke Dectectors (WISDs) have been developed by researchers from La Trobe University operate in a similar way to the networks that monitor air quality for human health. The WISDs measure particles in smoke to calculate risk ratings for smoke taint.
The WISD project has been awarded $1.78m through the Australian Government’s Australia’s Economic Accelerator (AEA) program, which supports collaboration between universities and industry to bring research closer to commercial reality.
Wine Australia’s General Manager – Research & Innovation, Dr Paul Smith, said: “The technology is revolutionising how the wine sector responds to smoke-related threats, giving growers and winemakers the confidence to market quality grapes and wine from smoke-affected areas.”
Since 2022, more than 100 WISD prototypes have been tracking smoke from bushfires and controlled burns across several states. Now that the WISD risk tool has been validated and is nearing completion, Wine Australia has partnered with Goanna Ag to take the system to market.
Jock Ferguson, Goanna Ag’s Winegrape Business Development Lead, said he was delighted the AEA grant will fast-track getting WISDs into the hands of growers.
“They are a vital industry breakthrough with appeal to stakeholders throughout the grape and wine sector in Australia as well as winegrowing regions around the world,” he said.
The AEA grant will help Wine Australia, Goanna Ag and La Trobe University continue testing, refining and commercialising the tool. Moving the WISD system into full commercial use through Goanna Ag will speed up its rollout across Australia and open opportunities in international markets.
“We hope to see widespread adoption of the WISD system throughout key wine-growing regions in Australia,” said Professor Ian Porter, from La Trobe’s School of Agriculture, Biomedicine and Environment.
“Having results in real time greatly reduces stress for growers and winemakers and allows them to make early decisions for management of smoke impacts on vineyards. In many cases they will be able to proceed with vineyard management, market their grapes and produce wine with confidence.”