Seminario "Terroir or not Terroir: Defining contributions to grape and wine composition"

Room 6302
h. 14:00-16:00
Palazzo della ricerca e della conoscenza
Fondazione Edmund Mach 
via Mach 1, 38010 San Michele all'Adige - Trento

Prof. Leigh Schmidtke is a passionate consumer of wine having been introduced to Australian Shiraz and Chardonnay during the final year of an undergraduate degree of Medical Laboratory Science.
He worked as a research microbiologist for five years at the Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries in Tasmania investigating and characterising the role of a range of bacterial species in farmed salmonids. Part of this work was the development of infection models and the identification of putative vaccination candidates to assist in control of infection disease. Leigh's work in the Australian wine industry commenced with the role of Microbiologist/Chemist for Southcorp Wines. He commenced at CSU in late 2001 teaching wine production and microbiology subjects. His PhD focussed upon the chemical impact of low rate micro oxygenation on oak flavour compounds in Shiraz wine. The development and application of a range of chemometric models was used to elucidate the impact of experimental factors. The use of advanced chemometric modelling is now a major focus of Leigh's research activities to investigate abiotic factors that impact vine plant performance; grape berry and wine composition; rapid methods of measurement of composition; analysis of flavour and aroma compounds and metabolomic profiling of wine and viticulture samples.

Leigh was appointed to the role of Director of the NWGIC in 2018 and currently represents CSU on a number of external committees including the National Wine Extension & Innovation Network, National Wine Research Network, and the National Primary Industries Research, Development & Extension (RD&E) Framework Wine Strategy Implementation Committee.

During his seminar, Prof. Schmidtke will introduce the NWGIC and provide an overview of student placement opportunities.