Management restructure

For some time the ownership and senior management team of the Portavin group of companies have been working towards a merger of the regional businesses into one. While this amalgamation will bring minimal change to Portavin’s service levels and operations at a regional level, it will enable the business to modernize and improve overall efficiencies.

In line with this objective, we have announced the following;

• As of 29th March 2011, Gerlinde Watson has assumed the position of Portavin Group CFO moving into the position of CFO of the amalgamated business as it occurs.
• As of 29th March 2011 Eddie Price has assumed the position of acting General Manager of Portavin WA until Anthony Davis moves into the role permanently later in 2011.

We welcome Eddie to the team, wish Gerlinde and Anthony the best in their new positions and look forward to ensuring our business is best positioned to continue to serve the Australasian Wine industry.

Cross Flow comes to you

Did you know Portavin has a mobile cross flow filtration unit? We can come to you and filter your 2011 whites ready for bottling as they come off fining. We offer a top of the range Pall cross flow unit and we happily offer a discount according to volumes and flow rate.

For rates and more information, contact Anthony.Davis@portavin.com.au

Dissolved Oxygen control

Last December, Portavin invested in a trial, conducted by the AWRI using SensIon dissolved oxygen (DO) testing.

This technology measures DO from the start to the finish of the filling process, including headspace levels. Portavin is always careful to minimise DO pickup during bottling and SensIon identified that Portavins’ bottling plants easily meet the accepted industry standards of today. This trial also produced recommendations to further reduce DO pickup and we can report that these have been successfully implemented.

As orbispheres are recognised as the most accurate way of measuring DO, Portavin recently invested in two of the latest models which will be available at our Perth and Margaret River sites from May. They come complete with an inert gas sampling system for testing bottled product, further demonstrating our commitment to the quality of your wine.

Sparging Inline- reduce DO and save money

When you’re looking to reduce DO and CO2 in your wine before bottling, Portavin can help! When we unload your tank of wine, we routinely measure DO and dissolved C02 and can sparge inline from the tanker if required.

Please notify us if you’d like to take advantage of this free service.

Free sample collection service

The Portavin laboratories are at the ready for your 2011 wines, as they make their way through primary and secondary fermentation.

We provide a full analytic service, with our most popular tests at the moment being residual sugar, malic acid, alcohol and acetic acid and pride ourselves on quick turn around and accuracy. We also offer discounts for multiple tests and have a FREE pickup service in the Margaret River region, to take advantage of this just call us the day before or by 9am on the day you would like your wine analysed.

Portavin is fully NATA accredited and we participate in the Inter Winery Analysis Group.

For rates and more details contact Anthony.Davis@portavin.com.au

Virgin PET

Virgin Atlantic recently selected Australian wine to go into its first 1 litre PET (polyethylene terephthalate) bottles. Being so much lighter than glass, PET is a natural choice for airlines.

As PET specialists, Portavin Melbourne was selected to bottle wine into 1 litre PET bottles destined for Virgin Atlantic. The first samples of this new package made their debut on Virgin Atlantic in-flight services in January this year and have been well received.

Portavin is a logical company for an airline to work with because of our independence and strong contacts with the boutique wineries, as well as the medium and large producers.

If you’d like to find out more about PET bottling, contact Ian.Matthews@portavin.com

Meet Drew Hennessy

Drew grew up in the Perth Hills. After leaving school, he studied aquaculture and biological sciences before deciding to “get his priorities straight” and move south to spend more time surfing. Once settled into the Margaret River region, Drew worked in supermarkets and in a landscaping business before deciding to get back into studying science. He completed a two-year diploma in laboratory technician, which required him to undertake work experience. Since he was working part time on the Portavin bottling line, the company welcomed him to work in the lab. That was 8 years ago and Drew is still here!

Drew’s role is multi faceted – he monitors all statistics, looks after NATA accreditation, develops and refines lab tests, oversees quality and makes sure there is continual improvement across all procedures. Throw into the mix staff training, issuing reports and daily contact with customers and it’s fair to say Drew’s job is never dull. He describes it as “A challenging and dynamic role, with plenty of variety.”

In his spare time, Drew is renovating a mid 90’s Hilux “giving it a well deserved birthday”. His love for four wheel driving takes him all around the state – wherever the fishing and surfing are good. Drew especially likes the Ningaloo to Exmouth area - “paradise” in his opinion.

Favourite wine style – a nice dry Riesling
Favourite footy team – the Wallabies
Favourite food – Marron sushi - Drew makes it himself!
Favourite movie – Pulp Fiction
Favourite book – Tim Winton, Dirt Music.