There is a considerable amount of grape sampling occurring this vintage to measure the impacts of smoke on potential wine quality.

If you’re involved in collecting these samples and are moving between vineyards in different phylloxera management zones, you need to be particularly careful not to contribute inadvertently to pest movement.

The same goes for industry personnel visiting different regions in Australia and overseas to assess fruit quality over vintage.

Remember to consider:

  • Your route of travel. Always move from a Phylloxera Exclusion Zone (PEZ) to a Phylloxera Risk Zone (PRZ) and finally to a Phylloxera Infested Zone (PIZ).
  • Your vehicle. If you are sampling between phylloxera management zones (PMZ), ideally hire a car in each zone rather than take your own vehicle.
  • Where you drive and park. Do not drive your car or the hire car down or near vine rows. Always park in designated car parking areas well away from vines.
  • Your hand tools. If possible, source the required hand tools at the vineyard you are visiting rather than bringing your own. This will negate the need for disinfestation between sites (see the protocol below) and meeting any quarantine requirements for the movement of tools between PMZs.
  • Your footwear. Best practice is to have a different pair of shoes for the different phylloxera management zones and disinfest shoes – in 2% sodium hypochlorite for 60 seconds with no water rinse after – between vineyard visits within and between these zones – this is imperative for visits to a PIZ or PRZ. Refer to the Footwear and Small Hand Tools Phylloxera Disinfestation Protocol for more detail.
  • Your clothing. Follow the flowcharts in Vinehealth Australia’s fact sheet ‘Biosecurity Planning for Vineyard Owners Hosting Visitors’ for best practice management of clothing based on the PMZ of the vineyard you’re visiting and which PMZ you have visited in the previous three weeks. Pay particular attention if you are visiting a PIZ or PRZ.
  • Your samples. Before you visit another region, familiarise yourself with the requirements for moving samples out of the region to a diagnostic laboratory, if this is the reason for your visit. If you are sampling in a PIZ or PRZ you will most likely require a Permit from the sending state biosecurity department to move the samples out of the Zone. The receiving state’s requirements for diagnostic samples will also need to be met (e.g. disinfestation treatment, certification, packaging, documentation) and can be found both by talking to your receiving laboratory and contacting your receiving state biosecurity department and familiarising yourself with the receiving state’s Plant Quarantine Standard, or equivalent. See our story ‘Diagnostic samples: know your requirements’ for more details.

As always, contact Vinehealth Australia on (08) 8273 0550 if you need advice about managing biosecurity risks when sampling.