The Science of Wine – Damian Martin

One of those, is Plant and Food’s Dr Damian Martin, leader of the New Zealand Grape and Wine Research Programme.

Martin, based at the Marlborough Research Centre, is responsible for bringing a number of legacy wine research programmes together, irrespective of who the research funder or provider might be.

It’s a role he is well suited to, having a strong background in science and wine itself.

Initially qualifying as an industrial chemist, Martin moved from a tyre factory position in Christchurch to France, where his interest in all things vinous developed. Within 12 months of arriving in the country, he was enrolled in an undergraduate winemaking course. He completed his wine science PhD in Bordeaux, before returning to New Zealand after eight years.

After a vintage in Hawke’s Bay he took up a role as viticultural scientist with Hort Research, prior to taking on the role of National Viticulture Manager for Corbans Wines in 1997. It was a time of amalgamation, with Montana buying Corbans and then being bought themselves by Allied Domeqc and finally Pernod Ricard.

Martin was lured away, with the opportunity to establish a new company and vineyard – Ara, in Marlborough. But wine research was always something that held a special attraction because it could make a difference to the New Zealand industry as a whole he says.

“I’m interested and curious. In a commercial situation you get so busy, you learn things obviously, but you can’t often satisfy your curiosity.”
So when the position as senior scientist with Plant and Food came up, he was quick to jump at it. That was back in 2011.

The changes the wine industry experienced in the early 2000s have also morphed out into the world of research. Since he placed his researcher hat back on just over three years ago, Martin has gone from senior scientist, to the leader of all the grape and oenology research being undertaken in New Zealand. Well almost, he explains.

“In the last couple of years we have migrated a number of the legacy programmes (Sauvignon Blanc 1 and 2 and Designer Grapevines) into one integrated New Zealand Grape and Wine Research programme. Plant and Food has done that in partnership with NZW, the University of Auckland and Lincoln University as initial stakeholders. But we are keen to bring into the fold as many institutions and universities as possible. It’s really a coordination role, providing some guidance where the programme might head, while also liaising between fundamental science and NZW investment priorities.”

With his in-depth knowledge of the industry from a practical and scientific point of view, Martin believes there are a number of major challenges for the future. The research team in Marlborough is currently focusing on two.

“Protecting New Zealand’s premium position – by that I mean, the things that make New Zealand wine distinctive and high value. We want to understand what they are, what are the seasonal, environmental and management factors that make our wines what they are? How do we hang on to those and how do we amplify their effects so we can manage them better? This is not something that we can solve in a few years – it is an underlying thread of our work.”

The second focus is an area that is being headed by Dr Mike Trought; the efficiency of production systems.

“How can we predict yields and manage them on a seasonal basis? How can we get our input costs and other inputs in line with the production of high quality but also profitable wines? And there are also strong sustainability and environmental factors to be considered.”

As if that is not enough, there are also other research areas, which include virus and trunk diseases, and the Lifestyle Wines Primary Growth Partnership (PGP) programme that build up to a multi million-dollar programme.

“Probably overall, if you include the NZW PGP programme and the new NZW/MBIE partnership funding, we are looking at well over $7M annually,” Martin says. “That’s a very big step up from where the industry was 14 years ago, when I started on the research committee (of NZW).”

Some may question the necessity for such a large chunk of funding going into researching low alcohol wines, but Martin isn’t one of them.

“It is important research in so far as it is not just about low alcohol wines at the end of the day. It’s about understanding how the aroma and flavour components in wine are connected (or not) to sugar accumulation in the grapes. We already know that there are some families of aroma compounds that aren’t linked to sugar accumulation, so it opens up the possibility of being able to produce wines with these compounds without having to wait for the fruit to get very sugar ripe. The knowledge from the PGP will inform all the wine categories. So if it’s Otago Pinot Noir or Merlot or Syrah in Hawke’s Bay, the benefits of more flavour with less alcohol will flow through the entire industry.”

With a strong research committee that has been hell bent on ensuring the information is passed back to the members, Martin says Simon Hooker and the NZW team have ensured not only government support, but also industry buy in.

“It is gratifying to see that we get really good industry support and that the industry rates the value of research highly. That’s not to say what we are doing is perfect, we can always improve. But it is nice to see that our value is recognised.”

Even more so, when some of that research goes on to become standard practices that those in the field take for granted.

“The mechanical thinning project is an example of that,” he says. “In two years time it will seem as though we have always had mechanical thinning. Sometimes people forget that research was the catalyst, but at the same time it is very gratifying that the research becomes part of the standard practice – that it has such an impact.”

While Martin can see improvements in the way the wine industry operates now, compared to say 20 years ago, there is still a lot to learn he believes. Like many scientists, he acknowledges that the more you learn, the more you realise you still have to learn.

“That is one of the real challenges with the respect of running such a large programme. We are opening doors all over the place, but we don’t have the resources to charge down all these new corridors. So we have to pick and choose. In the future hopefully we will be able to work even more closely with industry about which of these opportunities we pursue. It’s not just about money either; it’s about scientists and people – that is a huge challenge. So that is another benefit of growing this grape and wine programme – - we will be able to bring in and develop more scientists with knowledge of wine production in New Zealand. That will benefit everyone.”