1 00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:03,800 Speaker 1: Researchers in Melbourne have developed a smoke detection device which 2 00:00:03,800 --> 00:00:06,200 Speaker 1: could save the Australian wine industry of fortune. How's this work? 3 00:00:06,240 --> 00:00:08,719 Speaker 1: It's called wizards can determine whether the grapes are still 4 00:00:08,760 --> 00:00:12,039 Speaker 1: salvagible after smoke and fire exposure. The Trobe University research 5 00:00:12,160 --> 00:00:14,120 Speaker 1: Ian porters behind all of this and he's with us Ian. 6 00:00:14,200 --> 00:00:15,000 Speaker 1: Very good morning to you. 7 00:00:16,040 --> 00:00:16,919 Speaker 2: Yeah, good morning, Mike. 8 00:00:17,160 --> 00:00:19,919 Speaker 1: Is this unique to Australia in terms of bushfires or 9 00:00:19,920 --> 00:00:22,200 Speaker 1: potentially it's global? Is this an issue in the wine 10 00:00:22,200 --> 00:00:23,120 Speaker 1: industry everywhere? 11 00:00:24,760 --> 00:00:27,920 Speaker 2: Absolutely all the temperate zones around the world could benefit 12 00:00:27,960 --> 00:00:32,280 Speaker 2: from the technology. So we hope it's adopted firstly across 13 00:00:32,320 --> 00:00:35,960 Speaker 2: Australia and it's in four states now and should expand 14 00:00:35,960 --> 00:00:38,080 Speaker 2: out and then hopefully go global. 15 00:00:38,280 --> 00:00:40,360 Speaker 1: So the grapes are in a warehouse, you do what 16 00:00:40,720 --> 00:00:43,040 Speaker 1: this is? A probe? Is it a sniff of What 17 00:00:43,080 --> 00:00:43,479 Speaker 1: does it do? 18 00:00:44,560 --> 00:00:47,720 Speaker 2: No, the grapes on the vines during the season. What 19 00:00:47,720 --> 00:00:50,320 Speaker 2: it does in real time is given the growers and 20 00:00:50,400 --> 00:00:52,520 Speaker 2: answer as to whether the smoke has been too much 21 00:00:52,600 --> 00:00:55,160 Speaker 2: to taint the wine that will eventually be put in 22 00:00:55,200 --> 00:00:55,600 Speaker 2: the bottle. 23 00:00:57,440 --> 00:01:01,360 Speaker 1: Is that a yes or no? Is it a number? Figure. 24 00:01:01,400 --> 00:01:02,360 Speaker 1: What is it? 25 00:01:02,600 --> 00:01:06,319 Speaker 2: No, it is a traffic light system. So it gives green, yellow, 26 00:01:06,360 --> 00:01:10,360 Speaker 2: and red, and it lets you know whether you are okay, 27 00:01:10,560 --> 00:01:13,160 Speaker 2: whether you might need some intervention on white wines or 28 00:01:13,200 --> 00:01:17,960 Speaker 2: red wines. Yeah, and then you take it from there. 29 00:01:18,080 --> 00:01:20,160 Speaker 1: Does it do it? What? Bunch by a bunch vine 30 00:01:20,160 --> 00:01:21,360 Speaker 1: by vine row by row. 31 00:01:22,680 --> 00:01:25,560 Speaker 2: No, you put it in a vineyard and it'll estimate 32 00:01:25,640 --> 00:01:27,440 Speaker 2: or you might have one or two or three depending 33 00:01:27,480 --> 00:01:30,120 Speaker 2: on the undulation in your vineyard, and then that will 34 00:01:30,160 --> 00:01:33,000 Speaker 2: predict across that vineyard whether the trapes are safe to 35 00:01:33,120 --> 00:01:36,960 Speaker 2: harvest or not. And save you if you've got smoke taint, 36 00:01:36,959 --> 00:01:39,920 Speaker 2: and I'll save you all the costs of netting, labor, 37 00:01:40,040 --> 00:01:41,280 Speaker 2: et cetera to harvest a crop. 38 00:01:41,440 --> 00:01:44,160 Speaker 1: Because I remember, I can't remember when, but it was 39 00:01:44,160 --> 00:01:46,160 Speaker 1: a number of years ago that a lot of people 40 00:01:46,200 --> 00:01:49,640 Speaker 1: produced wine with a smoke taint. Didn't they became a thing? 41 00:01:51,080 --> 00:01:55,600 Speaker 2: No? Not really. Most vineyards hate getting or wine drinkers 42 00:01:55,680 --> 00:01:58,560 Speaker 2: hate smoke taint. Although at very very low levels you've 43 00:01:58,560 --> 00:02:01,160 Speaker 2: got similar compounds to what you get through sellering. So 44 00:02:02,440 --> 00:02:06,400 Speaker 2: until they become noxious and become like an ashtray, the 45 00:02:06,440 --> 00:02:09,160 Speaker 2: wine is still palatable. But growers don't like it there. 46 00:02:09,240 --> 00:02:11,360 Speaker 2: They believe it develops in the bottle. It actually doesn't. 47 00:02:11,400 --> 00:02:14,480 Speaker 2: But it can become a little stronger in the first 48 00:02:14,520 --> 00:02:16,760 Speaker 2: six months and that's it. But if you know what 49 00:02:16,800 --> 00:02:20,480 Speaker 2: the levels are and use the wizard, you won't get that. 50 00:02:20,880 --> 00:02:23,200 Speaker 1: Are you guys at try clipping the ticket? Do you 51 00:02:23,240 --> 00:02:25,240 Speaker 1: run that sort of operation where you invent something and 52 00:02:25,280 --> 00:02:26,560 Speaker 1: you get commercial gain from. 53 00:02:26,480 --> 00:02:30,880 Speaker 2: It, none whatsoever. We've sent it out to a commercial 54 00:02:30,919 --> 00:02:34,840 Speaker 2: company to market. All we want is growers to avoid 55 00:02:34,840 --> 00:02:37,520 Speaker 2: the emotional and financial stress from what happens when they 56 00:02:37,520 --> 00:02:41,720 Speaker 2: get smoke around, and that's from bushfires about every five 57 00:02:41,800 --> 00:02:44,320 Speaker 2: years in Australia, and we want to make sure that 58 00:02:44,360 --> 00:02:47,480 Speaker 2: they benefit from that. In two twenty they lost five 59 00:02:47,560 --> 00:02:49,640 Speaker 2: hundred million dollars worth of grapes and they could have 60 00:02:49,680 --> 00:02:51,760 Speaker 2: saved a loss if that had this technology. 61 00:02:51,919 --> 00:02:54,080 Speaker 1: Fantastic, go well with it. I appreciate it very much. 62 00:02:54,320 --> 00:02:56,280 Speaker 1: I think it is two twenty. I know disagree with me, 63 00:02:56,320 --> 00:02:58,480 Speaker 1: but two I think it was in say five years 64 00:02:58,520 --> 00:03:01,200 Speaker 1: ago some people I think it was arth Australia produced 65 00:03:01,320 --> 00:03:03,800 Speaker 1: wine and people went there's something not right there and 66 00:03:03,840 --> 00:03:06,000 Speaker 1: they concluded it had something to do with the smoke. 67 00:03:06,360 --> 00:03:08,480 Speaker 1: I reason I asked about the commercial side of it. 68 00:03:08,520 --> 00:03:10,520 Speaker 1: That's what Luxeon wants to do here with science. If 69 00:03:10,560 --> 00:03:15,040 Speaker 1: you invent something good here, there's commercial applications to be had, 70 00:03:15,400 --> 00:03:16,960 Speaker 1: and that's the sort of direction we need to be 71 00:03:17,000 --> 00:03:20,480 Speaker 1: hitting in. For more from the Mic Asking Breakfast, listen 72 00:03:20,560 --> 00:03:23,520 Speaker 1: live to news talks. It'd be from six am weekdays, 73 00:03:23,720 --> 00:03:25,720 Speaker 1: or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio.