Australian Cabernet Symposium

27/09/2024

FINALIST!! We are excited to share that the 2024 Australian Cabernet Symposium presented by the Coonawarra Vignerons in conjunction with , has been listed as a finalist for the Best Wine-Themed Event in the 2024 Wine Communicator Awards.

Organisers from both the Region and the Region eagerly await the announcement of the event category winner at the official Awards Ceremony, which will take place in Sydney on 20th November.

27/09/2024

FINALIST!! Coonawarra Vignerons are excited to share that the 2024 Australian Cabernet Symposium, presented in conjunction with Wines of Western Australia has been listed as a finalist for the Best Wine-Themed Event in the 2024 Wine Communicator Awards.

Organisers from both Coonawarra Wine Region and The Margaret River Region eagerly await the announcement of the Event Category winner at the official Awards Ceremony, which will take place in Sydney on 20th November.

06/02/2024

The 2024 Australian Cabernet Symposium has been hailed a success, delivering on all levels and exceeding the expectations of organisers and attendees alike.

150 Cabernet specialists and supporters from across the country gathered in Coonawarra and Margaret River for a full day of Cabernet Immersion.

One thing is for certain, Cabernet Sauvignon will continue to have a strong and relevant role in the world of premium wine and the future is looking bright 🍷 ✨

Follow the link in our bio for the full event recap.

06/02/2024

The 2024 Australian Cabernet Symposium has been hailed a success, delivering on all levels and exceeding the expectations of organisers and attendees alike.

150 Cabernet specialists and supporters from across the country gathered in Coonawarra and Margaret River for a full day of Cabernet Immersion.

One thing is for certain, Cabernet Sauvignon will continue to have a strong and relevant role in the world of premium wine and the future is looking bright 🍷✨

Read on for the full event recap.

Wine Industry experts from across Australia gathered in Coonawarra and Margaret River to discuss and hear insights about the future of Cabernet Sauvignon - and the future is bright!

02/02/2024

Day 2 of the Australian Cabernet Symposium 2024 has seen delegates get amongst the vines to discover how AgTech is enhancing production for growers, with Penley Estate opening their property for a field walk demonstration.

From infrared irrigation sensors and soil moisture probes, to frost protection, drones and DRIVERLESS tractors, participants have been left intrigued by the sophistication and effectiveness of these AgTechnology innovations and blown away by the possibilities of what’s to come!

A tremendous thanks to Hans Loder, Wine Australia supported Nuffield Scholarship recipient and Penley’s Viticulturist for hosting the Field Walk Demonstration session and to the AgTech companies involved:

• AirborneLogic (farm mapping)
• Sentek Technologies and Athena IR-Tech(vine water status)
• FrostBoss - Frost Fan Solutions (frost/telemetry)
• Department for Environment and Water (DEW) (telemetry trial/aquifier mangagement)
• Urban.io (water meter telemetry)
• Frolight Systems BV (frost/telemetry)
• Ripen Tech (hanging fruit weights)
• GoTrack Auto Drive (vineyard automation)
• La Trobe University (smoke sensor network)

01/02/2024

What a morning we’ve had immersing ourselves in all things cabernet at the Australian Cabernet Symposium 2024 .

With the symposium being broadcast live to and from Margaret River and Coonawarra Wine Region, it certainly is making for a magnificently interactive and informative day for delegates in these powerhouse Cabernet Regions!

Now it’s on to the masterclass…. 🍷 🍷 🍷

31/01/2024

Today's the day! We can't wait to see you at and .

Please feel free to ask any of our presenters questions in the comments below.

Thanks again so much to our sponsors for making this event possible: Hancock Insurance, 36 South Beef, ASVO , Nutrien Ag Solutions Penola, , Wattle Range Council and our regional funding partners, Wine Australia, Limestone Coast Grape and Wine Council and Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development

30/01/2024

Vinay Pagay is a senior Lecturer at the University of Adelaide and Co-Founder of Athena IR-Tech, a startup company that develops proximal crop water status sensors. We’re delighted to have Vinay as a guest presenter on both days of the ACS!

Live from on Day 1 he will explore how the challenges of vineyard irrigation motivated the development of Athena IR-Tech’s TranspIR irrigation scheduling sensors. These sensors employ proximal infrared technology to continuously measure canopy temperature and, together with ancillary environmental data, provide a daily index of vine water status.

Then on Day 2 at the Penley Agtech Field Walk, Vinay will demonstrate how the sensors work live in action in the Wine Australia Agtech Demonstration vineyard at . We’ll then head into the Cellar Door to hook up to the live cloud feed to give a glimpse of the data generated by the sensors in real time.

Only 1 day to go – Bring it on!

29/01/2024

Did you know that berry shrivel at full sugar content can result in yield loss of up to 30% and high sugar concentration in juice, and Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon are particularly prone to this phenomenon? It is becoming increasingly common in Australia and Europe.

Join PhD candidate Lishi Cai from the , who, live from Coonawarra will present an overview of the predictive model for cell death and ethanol accumulation that she has devised in conjunction with Professor Stephen Tyerman from the School of Agriculture, Food & Wine. Developed for Shiraz, it can be applied to Cabernet Sauvignon, with a device known as “Berry Breathalyzer” used to monitor berry health and indicate cell death before shrivel.

28/01/2024

Our presenters will enrich your minds with the latest in global Cabernet developments, while our two masterclasses will tantalise your palates.

Our first masterclass will see Richard Fennessy from the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development present a tasting of four clones produced from a Margaret River trial block in 2023. The block was established in 2019 to access the performance and wine attributes of 14 different clones and selections. Delegates can expect to taste differences in the wines exclusively attributed to clonal identity.

Our second Masterclass, hosted by Wynns Coonawarra Regional Viticulture Manager Ben Harris, will showcase four modern Cabernet wines that each have an important story to tell:

• Bellwether Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon 2015
• Wynns Johnsons Block Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon 2018
• Te Mata Estate Winery Coleraine Hawke’s Bay Cabernet Merlot 2021
• Stella Bella Wines Luminosa Margaret River Cabernet Sauvignon 2022

Cheers!

26/01/2024

Since taking the reins as Chief Winemaker of Cullen Wines in 1989 and Managing Director in 1999, Vanya Cullen has transformed the family business into one of Australia’s most environmentally sustainable vineyards. She’s a pioneer of biodynamic grape-growing, an award-winning winemaker, respected national and international wine show judge and a recipient of the Order of Australia for her services to viticulture and oenology.

Thanks to Vanya, Cullen Wines is organic and biodynamic certified and was the first winery in Australia to be certified 100% carbon neutral. The process of biodynamics has led to the production of better quality fruit through vine balance and hence a change in viticulture and winemaking to enable a pure expression of site in an authentic way.

Presenting live from Margaret River HEART on Day 1 (Thursday), we look forward to Vanya sharing the Cullen story and how they are preparing for the future and providing a sustainable way forward for winegrowing.

25/01/2024

In 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon was the world’s most-planted wine grape variety, up from 8th in 1990. In Australia it is 2nd only to Shiraz, having risen from almost no area in 1970.

But with the recent shrinking of the red-dominant China market and the consumer drift away from red wine globally, plus the longer-term impacts of climate change, what is the future for Cabernet, particularly in the regions where that variety dominates, most notably Coonawarra and Margaret River?

Professor Emeritus Kym Anderson will be joining us live from Coonawarra on Day 1 (Thursday) to highlight key aspects of the evolution of Cabernet Sauvignon’s place in the Australian wine industry using a comprehensive new annual dataset that covers the past 23 vintages.

Kym is the founding Executive Director of The University of Adelaide's Wine Economics Research Centre, an Honorary Professor of Economics at the Australian National University’s Crawford School of Public Policy, and Vice-President of the American Association of Wine Economists AAWE and Co-Editor of its Journal of Wine Economics. In 2015 he became a Companion of the Order of Australia (AC), in part for his contribution to the grape and wine industry.