27 August 1997 Spring School in Grapes and Wine promises to be vintage occasion

Master of Wine Bob Campbell of Auckland – only the second New Zealander (and one of only 210 people in the world) to have gained a Master of Wine qualification – is among a sparkling line-up of speakers who will address Lincoln University's 1997 Spring School in Grapes and Wine.

This year's school, the 5th in a series which began in 1993 as an event to mark the 20th anniversary of the first planting of grapes at Lincoln, will be held over the weekend of 27-28 September and registrations for it are now open.

A special highlight of the occasion will be the official launch of Lincoln University's new Bachelor of Viticulture and Oenology degree, approved for introduction in 1998 at the August meeting of Lincoln University Council.

Joining Bob Campbell on the guest speaker list are wine writer (and medical professor) Don Beaven of Christchurch; former St Helena Estate winemaker Petter Evans; Montana's Marlborough production chief Andrew Frost; Patrick Iland of the University of Adelaide's Department of Horticulture, Viticulture and Oenology; Delegat's chief winemaker and competition judge Brent Marris; HortResearch viticultural scientist Damian Martin (the only New Zealander with a doctorate in viticulture and oenology from Bordeaux University, France); and Allan Scott of Allan Scott Wines and Estates one of the largest Marlborough based family owned wineries.

Lincoln University staff members involved in viticulture and oenology will also be speaking at the school and they include Dr Maurice Barnes, Senior Lecturer in Biochemistry; Dr David Heatherbell, Reader in Oenology; Dr David Jackson, Reader in Viticulture; Andy Nurse of VitLinc; Professor Richard Rowe, Professor of Horticulture; Graeme Steans, Senior Tutor in Oenology; Dr Mike Trought, Senior Lecturer in Viticulture, and Leo Vanhanen, Technician in Oenology. Masterate student Nicole Tucker is also a speaker.

The programme includes the following topics – The importance of phenolics for wine quality and their profile in wines; Compositional changes in ageing red wine; The evolution of Sauvignon Blanc in Marlborough; Physiological and psychological factors in 'wine tasting'; The components of a terroir; and The effects of leaf removal and bunch thinning on fruit composition.

The two days of the school will be divided into seven sessions with a total of 19 lectures and addresses spread over those seven sessions.

For registration details for the 1997 Spring School in Grapes and Wine contact Errol Costello, Centre for Continuing Education, Lincoln University.

Ian Collins, Journalist, Lincoln University, Canterbury, New Zealand