23 June 2000 'Knowledge-link' key theme at Lincoln Grape and Wine School

The knowledge-link between grape growers and wine-makers – between viticulture and oenology – will be stressed by Australian guest speaker Elizabeth Waters at the 8th Annual Lincoln University Grape and Wine School, to be held at Lincoln University over 22-23 July, and repeated in part at Tairawhiti Polytechnic, Gisborne, over 24-25 July.

Dr Waters, Principal Research Biochemist with the Australian Wine Research Institute's Cooperative Research Centre, Adelaide, has a special interest in tying together the expertise of both viticulturists and oenologists in order to produce the finest possible wines.

Joining Dr Waters in the team of specialist guest speakers are fellow wine scientists, wine makers, competition judges, vineyard managers and agribusiness experts.

Included in the line-up are well-known figures such as Don Beaven, the retired Professor of Medicine and former wine judge who is one of the country's leading wine authorities, and award-winning psychologist turned wine scientist Wendy Parr of Wellington, whose specialist field is the sensory and thinking processes that underlie wine evaluation and particularly the ways in which the odours and aromas of wine evoke emotions and memories.

Included in the two-day programme is a special section on both getting into the wine industry and retiring from it. In this regard, speakers from the business, accounting and corporate worlds will discuss marketing strategies for growers and winemakers; vineyard costing models; labour management and employment relations; and exiting strategies.

Other session topics over the two days include pest and disease management; grapevine photosynthesis and the importance of carbohydrates in fruit composition and yield; and challenges in the industry from diseases to marketing.

Lincoln University's Grape and Wine School was initiated in 1993 as an event to mark the 20th anniversary of the first planting of grapes at Lincoln. It has become an annual occasion well supported by industry and public participation.

In an innovation this year the first day's programme at Lincoln University will be repeated in Gisborne, at Tairawhiti Polytechnic, on Monday 24 July, sponsored by Gisborne Grape Growers Association. The Gisborne association will then add an extra day on Tuesday 25 July using local speakers.

For enrolment details for the Lincoln University-based school over 22-23 July contact Errol Costello, Professional Development Group, Lincoln University, phone (03) 3253832; fax (03) 3253840; email costelle@lincoln.ac.nz; and for the Gisborne-based school over 24-25 July contact Fiona Nankivell, phone (06) 8627669; email closstwilliam@clear.net.nz; or write PO Box 353, Gisborne.

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