Futureproofing Aussie wines with mildew-resistant grapevines

CSIRO and Treasury Wine Estates (TWE) have partnered to develop new mildew-resistant and drought-resilient grapevines to futureproof some of the most collected wines in the region and also provide wider benefits for Australia’s $45bn wine industry.

Recently planted at Wynns Coonawarra Estate, the new grapevines blend genetics from TWE’s heritage vines in Coonawarra and Barossa Valley, which have enhanced climate resilience, with mildew-resistant traits developed through years of selective breeding by CSIRO, with funding from Wine Australia. 

Powdery and downy mildew costs the Australian wine sector an estimated $160m in management expenses and production losses annually. CSIRO Research Scientist and project lead Dr Paul Boss (pictured above) said breeding mildew resistance into elite vines gives future grapevines a genetic advantage to withstand these disease-causing pathogens. 

“Using traditional breeding methods, we introduced two distinct genes to the Wynns heritage vines, which give resistance to downy mildew and powdery mildew,” Boss said. 

“These are from CSIRO-developed breeding lines that confer robust disease resistance and other quality traits onto their progeny. 

“Having resistance genes for both powdery and downy mildew makes these plants more robust as it is unlikely the pathogens can break both sources of resistance with a single mutation.” 

Through many decades of exposure to climate extremes of hot, cold, wet and dry, the heritage vines from the Wynns and Penfolds vineyards have developed a natural resilience to drought, making them prime candidates for further development to enhance their tolerance to climate extremes. 

Close-up of Wynns and CSIRO progeny plants in the ground at Wynns Coonawarra Estate.

The Chief Supply & Sustainability Officer at Treasury Wine Estates, Kerrin Petty, said the global wine industry faces significant challenges managing grapevine disease pressure sustainably while managing the increasingly variable growing conditions created by the changing climate. 

“In partnering with CSIRO for this important project, we’re combining the genetics of heritage Australian vines from our renowned Wynns Coonawarra Estate and Penfolds brands with scientific research and innovation,” Petty said.  

“Creating mildew-resistant vines that are also able to withstand climatic variation means we’re setting up our vineyards to continue producing world-famous wine for generations to come.”  

The resulting cultivars are expected to require fewer inputs, such as the application of fungicide sprays, which will likely lead to additional sustainability benefits including lower carbon emissions from less frequent use of diesel-powered tractors in vineyards.   

The project demonstrates how science innovation can be used to bolster adaptation to a changing climate and manage disease pressure, providing knowledge that benefits the wider Australian wine sector to become more sustainable into the future. 

The mildew-resistant grapevine breeding lines used in this project were partly funded by Australia’s grape growers and winemakers through their investment body, Wine Australia, with matching funding from the Australian Government.