Sparkling! The science of yeast and wine
Professor Sakkie Pretorius, Managing Director of the Australian Wine Research Institute in Adelaide, will be speaking at
a public lecture on 30 November on the history of science in wine making.
Over seven millennia, yeast has been used to make wine. Over that time, the science of yeast biology and fermentation
technology have been revolutionising the way that wine is made. However, the evolutionary nature of science, and the
pace of the entire process of technological innovation are often so gradual that it is hard to bring it into focus by
the implementers of new inventions and technologies in winemaking.
While it might be true that big events can erupt noisily to dominate the headlines and thrust themselves onto the world,
changes that have lasting impacts on our daily lives often tend to take place more slowly, more quietly, more
sequentially. This is evident wherever we turn in our vineyards and wineries. We constantly encounter reminders of the
contributions of science and technology, which, for the most part, could not have been foreseen decades earlier, when
the research was funded and instigated. The technologies we take for granted in today’s vineyards and wineries are
really the fruits of yeast research planted decades ago. It takes insight to turn hindsight into foresight.
This presentation will briefly look back on the history of wine yeast research, summarises the current state of play and
makes some startling predictions for future applications of the latest cutting-edge ‘omics technologies, systems biology
and synthetic biology in strain development tailored for consumer-preferred wine styles. It’s a time for bold moves…
Sakkie Pretorius graduated from the University of the Orange Free State (South Africa) and obtained his PhD in Molecular
Yeast Genetics under the supervision of Prof Julius Marmur from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York in
1986 He was the founding Director of the Institute for Wine Biotechnology at Stellenbosch University and fulfilled this
role until the end of 2002 before he moved to Australia to take up the position of Managing Director of The Australian
Wine Research Institute in Adelaide. He is also an Affiliate Professor at the University of Adelaide.
The public lecture is part of the small things, BIG ideas conference to be held in Auckland from 30 November to 3
December. The conference - a joint meeting of the New Zealand Microbiological Society and the New Zealand Society for
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology – includes presentations from New Zealand experts, emerging researchers and students in a diverse
range of subjects, including molecular evolution, medical microbiology, microbial ecology and systems biology.
The conference will also include presentations from international experts including: anthrax scientist Professor John
Collier from Harvard Medical School; Professor Michael Wagner, head of the Department of Microbial Ecology at the
University of Vienna; molecular evolution researcher Professor Ken Wolfe from Trinity College, Dublin; systems biologist
Professor Steve Oliver from the University of Cambridge; Dr Katherine Swanson, Vice President of Food Safety at US-based
Ecolab; and Assistant Professor Isabel Rocha from the Biological Engineering Department at Minho University, Portugal.
For more information on the conference, please go to http://www.nzms2010.org.nz/
Public lecture: Sparkling! The science of yeast and wine
Professor Sakkie Pretorius, Australian Wine Research Institute
30 November 2010, 6.30pm. Lecture theatre 098, Owen G Glenn Building, Grafton Road, University of Auckland
Includes the conference opening address by Dr Wayne Mapp, Minister for Research, Science and Technology
ENDS