Victorian Agriculture Minister Joe Helper said the research aimed to add value to Victoria’s wine industry by determining what factors affect tannins in the grapes, and how these contribute to producing a higher quality wine.

"Historically, grape quality was assessed based on the sugar level in the fruit or the colour of the grape," Mr Helper said.

"However, discrepancies were found when using colour as the indicator of wine quality because colour is not an infallible indicator of the flavour, aroma and mouthfeel of the wine.

"By measuring tannin levels in wine grapes, scientists can learn more about the environmental, viticultural and varietal factors that ultimately impact a wine’s quality."

Department of Primary Industry’s senior viticultural research scientist Mark Downey said until now there had been limited research in this area.

"The complex chemistry of tannin in wine and grapes is not well understood," Dr Downey said.

"Our research has given a more comprehensive picture of the tannin content and composition of grapes as well as tannin variability.

"Using a new technology, we have isolated tannin polymers and their individual subunits from grapes.

"We were then able to look at the range of tannin levels and how these levels might change between wine regions, seasons, different grape varieties and various management practices.

"While variability may provide management opportunities, it also creates enormous challenges for winemakers trying to maintain product quality and consistency.

"Over the next couple of seasons we will determine if we can increase tannin levels in different parts of the vineyard to a similar level at harvest thereby contributing to consistent grape and wine quality."