Dr Richard Smart

One of the world's foremost viticultural consultants with 50 years in vineyards. Current interests are mitigating the climate crisis and trunk disease control.

[Dr Richard Smart @vinedoctor]

@BKPinot Hello Belinda, will someone be presenting the ACE story, maybe the most efficient form of maceration, developed for Pinot noir in Tasmania, now applied to many red and white ferments! Simple and cheap to perform, sound in theory and practice.

[Dr Richard Smart @vinedoctor]

@PeterWMurphy1 @craigreucassel "Delay is the new denial" indeed. What sage words to end a brilliant series, touching young and old lives, households to business giants. Congratulations Craig, Jodi Boylan and Lune Media

[Dr Richard Smart @vinedoctor]

@alain_deloire @sabrosiavit Alain, Agr. Forest. Meteorol (1974), 12,337-346, and Amer J. Enol. Vitic. (1974), 25, 84-91. 24 years before Carbonneau

[Dr Richard Smart @vinedoctor]

@sabrosiavit Hello Greg and Glen, I will read with interest. Do you know the first to publish pressure bomb readings for grapevines.. c'etait moi, research in 1960's, with then new drip irrigation.

[Dr Richard Smart @vinedoctor]

@spskelton Hello Stephen, Where have the old vines gone? Died?, what from? and why?

[Dr Richard Smart @vinedoctor]

@sabrosiavit Glen, did you hear, the world is warming. What are you and your local wine industry doing to help mitigate against it?

[Dr Richard Smart @vinedoctor]

@philgoodbandmw Philip, I agree that it is a fine article, and timely, and not without some parallels in Australia, but thankfully no prohibition here, but other problems yes, with indigenous communities

[Dr Richard Smart @vinedoctor]

@vineandwine Hello Simon, Impressive. It will ripen more effectively if you change to Scott Henry trellis, very simple at next pruning.

Cheers, Richard Smart

[Dr Richard Smart @vinedoctor]

@AkifEskalen Indeed, and your photo shows the staining associated with the cause; various trunk disease fungi, primarily in the rootstock cutting used for dormant bench grafting, a world wide problem, which is solvable, but the nurseries choose not to care....

[Dr Richard Smart @vinedoctor]

@Polgoon Vines are looking good, also you two!

[Dr Richard Smart @vinedoctor]

@hanswp Hello Hans, Wine Australia has just commissioned a temperature modelling review until the end of the century. I have just reviewed results, really scary. Consider the present as a dress rehearsal.. We are urging our industry to mitigate now! How about yours?

[Dr Richard Smart @vinedoctor]

@AkifEskalen Quite so, published in South Africa. Avoid disbudding around wet weather, or protect wounds

[Dr Richard Smart @vinedoctor]

@JancisRobinson Decanters for the table, for red or white or fortified, to save carbon emission. Leave the alternate packaging to 750 ml glass in the kitchen; there are plenty, and they all save carbon emissions!!

[Dr Richard Smart @vinedoctor]

@hudin @JancisRobinson Vine age effects on wine quality are more discussed by wine writers than vine physiologists and other scientists. There are plausible explanations, but they may shatter the myths.....

[Dr Richard Smart @vinedoctor]

@JancisRobinson Too late. About 20 years ago at a barbeque in the Alentejo Portugal I asked a group of ex-pat English cork producers what they thought about TCA. They said what is that? (it is the compound causing cork taint). And along came screw caps.

[Dr Richard Smart @vinedoctor]

@mhallgrapepath @AlexFredricks10 @Mizzou @cafnr Hello Megan and Alex, any good results to report?

[Dr Richard Smart @vinedoctor]

@PS_Joanna @timatkin @robertjoseph @JancisRobinson @Decanter Hello Joanna, Tim, Robert. I suspect there will not be one only solution, and the transition will be long and orderly and will be economical as well as environmental. It will be the biggest change to wine for centuries, literally. Holistic if you want.

[Dr Richard Smart @vinedoctor]

@lesleycusse @timatkin @robertjoseph @JancisRobinson Lesley, notice how the conversation was drawn away from 17 century packaging of wine. We need to get real. The world wine industry needs to get serious about MITIGATION. Do many people realise that they contribute DIRECTLY to atmospheric CO2 levels by releasing fermentation CO2

[Dr Richard Smart @vinedoctor]

@BoatDrinker @timatkin @robertjoseph @JancisRobinson I agree Nate, we are talking about a transition period, not yet complete for screw caps. Consumer acceptance, and their attitude towards the environment will be critical. And we can always use decanters on the table

[Dr Richard Smart @vinedoctor]

@timatkin @robertjoseph @JancisRobinson Tim, I think you are trivialising the situation. Maybe humans should stop exhaling CO2?