SFF Project Summary
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All areas in Central Otago have significant risks of late frosts.
Central Otago is dependent on one high quality red grape variety namely Pinot Noir.
There is a need to have an alternative grape that will reduce risk by ripening grapes earlier than Pinot noir.
St Laurent ripens 10 days earlier than Pinot Noir and is described by Jancis Robinson as a grape that can produce high quality wines at low cropping ratios similar to the best Pinot Noir. It is a very dark red, fruity bouquet, dry, velvety with pleasing tannin content, Oxford Companion to Wine edited by Jancis Robinson Oxford Univ. Press 1994.
Austria, Germany and Czechoslovakia are the only three areas of the world producing significant quantity of St Laurent but Canada and USA are experimenting.
St Laurent grape is in New Zealand (NZVIG) but these plants have leaf roll type 3 virus and are unsuitable. As no facility in New Zealand is available to heat treat or tissue culture disease free material this project has started from proven disease free material in vitro from Canada.
Purpose of this project is to introduce a disease free St Laurent grape into New Zealand and to establish a viable alternative to Pinot Noir which will reduce the risks of late frost to Central Otago wine growers.
Steps of project
- Import disease free St Laurent in tissue culture vials from Canada completed July 2001
- Culture the grapes from test tube vial to planting out; completed December 2001
23/11/2001 St Laurent (after in vitro stage) in quarantine
On 11 April 2001 the Plants were inspected by MAF virologist and cleared for release.
Figure 1 MAF Virologist Mr and Dennis Hughes Blue Mountain Nurseries Tapanui
Figure 2 Healthy Plants 11/4/2002 at Release from Quarantine
Unfortunately the discovery of phylloxera in Alexandra has set back the initial plans to plant St Laurent on own roots. The plant has been forwarded to Kate Gibbs of Stanmore Farm to bulk up the St Laurent as mother pkants before grafting in 2003. Thus the first grow from St Laurent is now likely to be in 2006.
To raise the awareness of St Laurent as an option a trial tasting was held on 28 June of St Laurent from Austrian producers recommended by wine writer Michael Pronay.
These were:
Grand Reserve Johanneshof Reinsch 1997 St Laurent Austria
- Colour/clarity; dark red/purple hues
- Bouquet; some VA, blackberry fruits, oak, acetone
- Taste; good fruit struggling to come through oak, good mid palate, over oaked
- Comment 2nd choice in 1st flight on show of hands
Umathum Reserve St Laurent 2000 Austria
- Colour/clarity; dark red/purple hues
- Bouquet; vanilla oak, fruits of forest, red fruits, funk
- Taste dark plum, cherry, fine tannins, look good with food, slight caramel finish
- Comment 2nd choice of 2nd flight on show of hands
Juris Reserve St Laurent 2000 Austria
- Colour/clarity; bright dark red/purple
- Bouquet; sweet fruit
- Taste nice ripe omega plums, nice elegant chocolate structure, tannic finish, disjointed?
- Comment clear 1st choice of 3rd flight in show of hands
Winemakers thought that the wine was similar to Pinot Noir with greater colour, more mid palate and chocolate character. They also though the wine should be marketed as St Laurent not as Pinot St Laurent because the wine has quality and can stand alone.
One criticism of the tasting should have included pinot Noir and St Laurent from the same vineyard and year as a better control on the differences. A followup tasting is planned for 29 November 2002 with wines from Nichol Vineyard 1999 and other Austrian St Laurent and Pinot Noir.
Sue Courtney in her article wine of the week gave a good review to Czech St Laurent - Collegium Vinitorum Svatovavrinecke 1999. http://www.wineoftheweek.com/tastings/0204moravia.html
So our plans has changed and the programme amended as below.
- Prove the suitability of the variety by it's early ripening in local conditions, using data loggers to document climate.
- Compare to Pinot Noir on the same site by producing wine during 2006/7 seasons
- Distribute cuttings to other Central Otago growers. Cuttings will be available through Kate Gibbs www.stanmorefarm.co.nz . These should be available within three years.
The USA Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms Bureau 16 march 2001 have recognize St Laurent as an variety name for wine.
Austrian St Laurent Information www.saarwein.com
Canadian information on St Laurent www.littlefatwino.com/stlaurent.html
Additional sites of interest
- www.umathum.at/english/trophy.htm
- http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/fedreg/a010927c.html
- www.bmn.co.nz
- http://www.geocities.com/napavalley/8992/Vinelibrary5.html
- http://www.otagowine.com/otagowine/central.html
- http://www.best-of-austria.com/wein/neusiedlersee/stiegelmar/
- http://groups.yahoo.com/group/pinotnoirwinemaking/
- http://www.iac.tuwien.ac.at/cavs/research/wineanalysis.html
- http://www.winepressnw.com/wineries/okanaganvalley/nichol.html
All areas in Central Otago have significant risks of late frosts.
Central Otago is dependent on one high quality red grape variety namely Pinot Noir.
There is a need to have an alternative grape that will reduce risk by ripening grapes earlier than Pinot noir.
St Laurent ripens 10 days earlier than Pinot Noir and is described by Jancis Robinson as a grape that can produce high quality wines at low cropping ratios similar to the best Pinot Noir. It is a very dark red, fruity bouquet, dry, velvety with pleasing tannin content, Oxford Companion to Wine edited by Jancis Robinson Oxford Univ. Press 1994.
Austria and Germany are the only two areas of the world producing St Laurent but Canada and USA are experimenting.
St Laurent grape is in New Zealand (NZVIG) but these plants have leaf roll type 3 virus and are unsuitable. As no facility in New Zealand is available to heat treat or tissue culture disease free material this project has started from proven disease free material in vitro from Canada.
Purpose of this project is to introduce a disease free St Laurent grape into New Zealand and to establish a viable alternative to Pinot Noir which will reduce the risks of late frost to Central Otago wine growers.
Steps of project
1. Import disease free St Laurent in tissue culture vials from Canada completed July 2001
2. Culture the grapes from test tube vial to planting out; underway as at December 2001
23/11/2001 St Laurent (after in vitro stage) in quarantine
3. Prove the suitability of the variety by it's early ripening in local conditions, using data loggers to document climate.
4. Compare to Pinot Noir on the same site by producing wine during 2002/03 to 2003/04 seasons
5. Distribute cuttings to other Central Otago growers
The USA Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms Bureau 16 march 2001 have recognize St Laurent as an variety name for wine.
Related Links
Austrian St Laurent Information www.saarwein.com
Canadian information on St Laurent www.littlefatwino.com/stlaurent.html
Additional sites of interest www.best-of-austria.com/wein/
www.umathum.at/english/trophy.htm
http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/fedreg/a010927c.html
http://www.gseocities.com/napavalley/8992/Vinelibrary5.html
http://www.otagowine.com/otagowine/location.html
