The wine show judges have fifferences of opinion about riesling
Differences of opinion about riesling certainly showed among judges at Australia’s major wine shows last year. It does make you wonder when a wine can win a gold with 95 points in one show and then get less than the 85 needed for a bronze at another. That’s what happened to the first two wines on our list below. You will find many further anomalies right down this record of all the 2023 gold medal winners.
Bringing in barrels full of bargains on the faithful old Glug track
Bringing in barrels full of bargains on the faithful old Glug truck. What a highlight for a winemaker’s week. Collected from one of our regulars – some glorious Vintage 23 Barossa Valley Shiraz and Grenache
Looking forward to making something nice from these!
The result of sourcing the extra barrels that the makers had left after their own bottlings.
Sure that in time after careful attention they’ll make more of those great limited Glug releases.
We already have a collection of many such bargains where we are happy to keep the makers names secret to protect their own marketing efforts. You’ll find them under Glug labels on our list of wines at less than $20 a bottle.
We explained last year how we are continuing the tradition of the Barossa wine merchant of picking the best barrels from those that small wine makers found were surplus to what they could sell to their own customers. With conditions getting harder in the industry we are being offered more and more excellent wines to choose from.
Bringing in barrels full of bargains will make this a tasty year for Glug customers and that’s a promise.
With there now being 2500 producers Australia wide, many of them find they cannot sell their total production at the prices they had become accustomed to. We discuss this problem in our post “If my neighbour’s selling his shiraz for $50″
Over production of grapes strikes the port makers of Douro
Troubles in the Valley as over production of grapes strikes the port makers of Douro as sales of port continue to decline.
The Portuguese port industry is seeking government intervention to limit production and control prices.
A group of 26 leading producers published a full-page open letter in national newspapers condemning the lack of government reform, saying it “impacted not only the price of grapes but also the socio-economic sustainability of the farmers, the companies, and the future of the region’s wines in international markets”.
The letter added: “No wine region can survive such an imbalance for long, suffering damage to its reputation and to the economy of its communities. This incomprehensible inaction is damaging one of the most historic and beautiful wine regions in the world.”
The London Times quoted Paul Symington, the head of the Anglo-Portuguese port dynasty, saying century-old regulations are endangering the Douro Valley and its vineyards.
Describing it as a “hopelessly antiquated regulatory system”, Symington said that the Douro Valley was the only wine region in Portugal still run along lines established by the dictator António Salazar, who died in 1970. “The government has a diamond, a jewel in the world of wine, rich in history and tradition, and they’re endangering it.”
The regulatory system was designed almost exclusively for port but Douro red and white wines now account for almost half of the area’s grape production, the paper explained.
“This has given rise to numerous distortions,” said Symington. “For example, the quantity of grapes that can be made into port is adjusted annually depending on total stocks and demand – just like champagne. But Douro wine, from exactly the same vineyards and grapes, has no annual quota so these grapes are sold at market prices which are overwhelmingly below cost every year due to an excess supply of grapes.”
The wine industry is bad and getting badder and Wine Australia keeps singing “Always Look on the Bright Side of Life”. Last month the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences (ABARE) published a very gloomy forecast of wine’s economic future. Couched in vey temperate language the assessment still amounted to a strident criticism of Wine Australia which is also a federal government body,
ABARE predicted that over the outlook period to 2027−28, the value of wine grape production is expected to fall to $647 million in real terms. “Yields are also expected to diminish over the outlook period in line with reduced rainfall compared to the last three years. In the drier scenario, it is expected that the value of wine grape production will fall rapidly to $478 million in real terms by 2027−28.”
Gross value of wine grape production, Australia, 2010−11 to 2027−28
f ABARES forecast. s ABARES estimate. z ABARES projection. Sources: ABARES; Wine Australia
According to ABARE the value of wine exports will continue to fall – down 20% to $1.8 billion in 2022−23. Over the outlook period it is expected that exports will initially rise briefly before falling to around $1.7 billion in real terms by 2027−28 and by by 30% from 2022−23 to $1.2 billion in real terms by 2027−28 in its drier scanario.
Value of wine exports, Australia, 2010−11 to 2027−28
f ABARES forecast. s ABARES estimate. z ABARES projection. Sources: ABARES; ABS; Wine Australia
For grape growers, especially those with red varieties, the outlook is grim. The following graph shows that Australian wine grape prices normally track export prices quite closely. Over the outlook period it is expected that export prices will fall to $3 per litre in real terms. As the global economic recovery takes place, it is expected that discretionary expenditure in export destinations will begin to increase, raising demand for wine. However, global supply of red wine is expected to continue to outpace consumption and it is expected that red wine export prices will remain depressed.
Real grape price vs wine export price, Australia, 2014−15 to 2027−28
f ABARES forecast. s ABARES estimate. z ABARES projection. Sources: ABARES, ABS, Wine Australia
Wine grape prices, inland region vs national average, 2014−15 to 2023−24
f ABARES forecast. s ABARES estimate. Sources: ABARES; Wine Australia
Commenting on “Opportunities and Challenges” says there is potential for red wine prices to recover if domestic and international producers acknowledge the long−term decline in global red wine consumption and restructure to focus on higher value varieties such as white varietals. Additionally, greater value may be gained by Australian producers if they market their products towards younger demographics.
Wine Australia’s response is to find reasons why ABARE forecasts may prove to be wrong. “Overall,” it summarises, the reduction in the size of the winegrape crop forecast by ABARES in the forecast period may be on the high side. However, their overall modelling and assumptions on which it is based are sound and do reflect the reality of the very tough global economic outlook and a move into a drier climatic period. While the quantum of the forecast future tonnage is debatable, it does serve as an important stimulus for conversations about how the sector will respond to the challenges over the next five years.”
Forecasting is a notoriously imprecise business. Who knows which organisation wil be closest to the future mark but I am sure that grape growers hope Wine Australia has more success in stimulating their industry in the future than it has in the past.
If variety is the spice of your life then the range of Village Belle wines should be on your red wine drinking menu.
The Belle is the Glug Wines home for wines outside the standard Barossa Valley choices of Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon and blends containing them.
We are interested in taste variations to the Barossa and Eden Valley core varieties and actively search for them. Many of the wines are not made by Glug, but are purchased one barrel at a time from small grower-makers we follow.
These vignerons are an adventurous lot and their desire to learn means they will try anything at least once. So, they become our source for the many alternative varieties that are now planted across the Barossa. They retain what they can sell while we are offered a barrel or two each vintage of varieties surplus to requirements.
We like their wine making attitude and since the first Village Belle of 2013 have bottled over 15 different varieties. Grenache though is a staple and we have offered 2013, 2016, 2017, 2020 and now this 2022. All different and from many different makers.
Village Belle Barossa Valley CarignanVillage Belle Barossa Valley Grenache
The 2022 Village Belle Barossa Valley Grenache
The old Barossa, the port and sherry Barossa, was about Grenache as it reaches a high sugar content. The new Barossa was about Shiraz so Grenache with pushed to the side. A flickering revival began in the late 1980s and this has grown to save what remains of the old bush vines. Grenache is a Village Belle favourite and we have offered 2013, 2016, 2017, 2020 and now this 2022.
Carignan is a Spanish, French, classic Mediterranean variety which has a long history in the Barossa and was used to make fortified wines. Heat and a long slow ripening period suit it best. The Barossa Valley may be its ideal home though by the time winemakers woke up to the merits of Carignan most had been grubbed out.
Currently this is my late afternoon sipping red. Less the big nose of Shiraz and more the fragrance of Grenache is the way to approach this variety.
One of three different blns of grenache, mataro and shiraz
It’s almost the year of the rabbit – but how about a hare instead? That’s the closest Glug has as appropriate to toast in the Lunar New Year.
This traditional Asian day of celebration is on Sunday 22 January. To discover what the year my bring I consulted the Chinese Zodiac site and discovered the Rabbit represents peaceful and patient energy. “This energy will encourage us”, I was informed, “to approach challenges and opportunities calmly and rationally.”
What sound advice when it comes to wine. Calm and rational assessment would put glugwines.com.au high on any list of value-for-money wines. And among those quality glug offerings are the Three Hares Grenache-Shiraz-Mataro blends.
Each is a 2020 vintage but they have different proportions of the three varieties. They make a good test of wine tasting rationality.
But back to rabbits and hares. The Japan Times in its preview of the Lunar New Year records that one of the country’s most famous and oldest tales involving the rabbit is the “Hare of Inaba,” which was recorded in the “Kojiki,” the oldest extant chronicle of Japan dating from the early eighth century.
“Legend has it that a hare challenged a shark to see whose family was the largest. When the sharks lined up to be counted, they stretched from the Oki Islands (in present-day Shimane Prefecture) to neighboring Cape Keta (in present-day Tottori Prefecture).
“The hare counted the sharks as he hopped along on top of them and, nearing the land on the other side, taunted them that he had set up the challenge simply to cross the sea. One shark attacked him and ripped off his fur. The hare asked for help from some passing gods but they treated him cruelly. Only one, Onamuchi helped him heal, resulting in Onamuchi’s enshrinement for benevolence at Izumo-Taisha, believed to be the oldest Shinto shrine in Japan.
The grounds at Izumo-Taisha in Shimane Prefecture Japan are full of statues of rabbits. | KATHRYN WORTLEY
“Even today, the shrine grounds are full of statues of rabbits in various poses as a nod to this famous tale and its connection to the local area.”
Surely that story makes the Hares approprite toast in the Lunar New Year.
I typed, ‘what does Barossa Shiraz taste like’. In a flash the AI machine replied about a red wine known for its bold, rich flavor.
‘Barossa Shiraz is a type of red wine that is known for its bold, rich flavor. It typically has notes of dark fruit, such as blackberry and blueberry, as well as hints of spice and pepper. Some people may also detect hints of chocolate or coffee in the wine. Overall, Barossa Shiraz is known for its intense, full-bodied flavor, which makes it a popular choice among red wine enthusiasts’.
An AI machine gave a verdict
How things change. I recall using Letraset to create the Farmer Bros newsletters from 1977, one of many experiences that helped make up my mind that this retailer was not going to miss out on how the tech-digital era unfolded. But how would these modern ways help customers find a better drink?
The Tech-digital wave has created many consumers blogs and several very large help sites. How useful are they to finding a grand bargain? And who writes those tasting notes?High tech poses the glasses
Did you realise that so many wished to blog their wine experience that by 2008 this group was large enough to form the first North American Wine Bloggers Conference. A European Bloggers Conference was held the same year.
Elsewhere, Gary Vaynerchuck made a series of videos on enjoying wine from his father’s New Jersey wine store in 2006. These became popular enough for Gary to later gain fame as a corporate advisor on the use of social media.
Use of tech-digital was spreading yet for consumers what questions needed answering and what did they seek?
Along came Wine-searcher in 1999 to record all known wines, even back vintages, allowing you to search for price and availability. Vivino took a different tack beginning in 2010 to record customer reviews of every wine. Both sites now have millions of weekly visits though to reward their efforts they have been ‘monetised’, so be wary.
Still, I find much of the tech-digital experience is not much help in spending your dollar wisely. The likely reason being selecting is personal and builds from your wine journey. To assist in their journey, I noted that bloggers quickly realised that to write notes each week required them to taste different wines or else what was there to say. Likely from this they began to develop and the same thing, indeed I promise, will happen to you.
Compulsory confinement has turned me back to some re-reading of old favourites and this delight today as Evelyn Waugh had me revisit Charles Ryder and his Oxford companion Sebastian Flyte sampling the delights of the Brideshead cellar.
Here’s Ryder remembering the hours during which they made a “serious acquaintance with wine.”
““We would sit, he and I, in the Painted Parlour with three bottles open on the table and three glasses before each of us; Sebastian had found a book on wine-tasting, and we followed its instructions in detail. We warmed the glass slightly at a candle, filled it a third high, swirled the wine round, nursed it in our hands, held it to the light, breathed it, sipped it, filled our mouths with it, and rolled it over the tongue, ringing it on the palate like a coin on a counter, tilted our heads back and let it trickle down the throat. Then we talked of it and nibbled Bath Oliver biscuits, and passed on to another wine; then back to the first, then on to another, until all three were in circulation and the order of glasses got confused, and we fell out over which was which, and we passed the glasses to and fro between us until there were six glasses, some of them with mixed wines in them which we had filled from the wrong bottle, till we were obliged to start again with three clean glasses each, and the bottles were empty and our praise of them wilder and more exotic.
‘…It is a little shy wine like a gazelle.’
‘Like a leprechaun.’
‘Dappled, in a tapestry meadow.’
‘Like flute by still water.’
‘…And this is a wise old wine.’
‘A prophet in a cave.’
‘…And this is a necklace of pearls on a white neck.’
‘Like a swan.’
‘Like the last unicorn.’
And we would leave the golden candlelight of the dining-room for the starlight outside and sit on the edge of the fountain, cooling our hands in the water and listening drunkenly to its splash and gurgle over the rocks.”
From chapter four of “Brideshead Revisited” and surely one of the great pieces of wine writing.
Tanunda in the Barossa Valley, viewed from Mengler’s Hill. Vineyards in Autumn Source: Scott Davis – photographer
A Highlight Summary of the Barossa Landscape 1. Many of the worlds wine regions have developed on sediments that have a recent origin and were created by the melting of ice sheets that began about 18,000 years ago. Most are dated at less than 12,000 years old. Some of the vineyards of Argentine, Chile, New Zealand, and Oregon-Washington are examples. Many other European, New Zealand, and South American vineyards grow on landscapes that are younger than 300,000 years with the main vineyards of Bordeaux being on terraces about 1,000,000 years old.
2. The Barossa Valley is unusual because of the great age of the land surfaces, some of which can be traced back to 200 million years ago.
3. The great age of the Barossa Valley has allowed numerous land surfaces to develop on a wide variety of underlying rocks and sediments dating from 200 million years to the present.
4. The Valley part of the Barossa Valley began 35 million years ago and this Valley was filled over the next 30 million years with a tiny sequence of sediments carried in by streams from the surrounding low relief landscape.
5. On average the Valley filled with less than 100 metres of sediment giving a rate of deposition of one millimetre per 30 years.
6. The landscape of the Barossa Valley today with the major feature being the Eastern Range has been created in the last 5 million years.
7. The land surface of the Barossa Valley can be divided into 13 separate sub-regions with vineyards planted on 12 of these. These may or may not coincide with sub-regions that wine makers recognise as producing different tastes.
8. The idea of sub-regionality while not new is gaining pace with many wineries referring to single vineyard sites and local district names.
General Information about the Barossa Valley The Barossa Valley is a north east trending valley extending about 36 kilometres from Williamstown at the southern end of the Lyndoch Valley to St. Kitts Creek which closes off the northern end of the Barossa Valley. It is bounded by two ranges referred to here as the Western Ridge which is part of the North Mount Lofty Ranges and the Eastern Range which is part of the South Mount Lofty Ranges. The southern extension of the Eastern Range is also known as the Barossa Range.
The ‘flat lying’ part of the Barossa Valley varies from 2 (Lyndoch Valley) to 5 kilometres in width. Along both sides, the slopes into the Valley are covered with vines. Along the eastern edge this is mostly a simple slope off the Eastern Range but along the Western Ridge vines are planted many kilometres back into the slopes of the Range and often in well defined separate valleys such as Seppeltsfield. Including these vineyards the width of the Barossa Valley swells to 12 to 14 kilometres at its widest. The greatest density of vines is however along the spine of the Valley floor.
In 2007 there were 10,250 ha planted to grapes in the Barossa Valley, producing about 60,000 tonnes pa. Export statistics from the end of March 2008 (AWBC) for the Moving Annual Total (MAT) show that exports of Barossa branded bottled wines accounted for 28% of these grapes, exceeded 1.5 million cases and were valued at $146.6 million, giving an average price per 9 litre case of $97.73.
Figure 1. A Map of the Barossa Valley and Lyndoch Valley
A Very Old Land Surface Many if not most of the worlds vineyards are planted on land surfaces that are as young as 10,000 years old and go back about 1,000,000 years which covers for example the famous glacially derived river terraces of Bordeaux.
In the northern part of the Barossa Valley you can stand on a land surface that is 200 million years old. It must be one of the oldest in the world and is surely one of the oldest surfaces planted to vines. It’s a remnant of a great land surface that spread across the southern part of Australia and remained intact for 150 million years. Standing there I look across the rolling hills and realise that if I connect the remnant tops of this surface I can reconstruct how it looked. It was flat and rolled very gently not unlike the landscape further north of the Barossa and the conclusion you come to is that little has changed in all this time. By this I mean it has not moved up and has not moved down. To be preserved for such a vast amount of time requires a very, very stable setting-and such settings are very rare.
How this old, iron rich surface, tough and very resistant to erosion, slowly crumbled over the last 50 million years is the story of the Barossa. 50 million years ago the climate was sub-tropical, wet and humid and perhaps the Barossa looked like this.
Figure 2. A depiction of a tropical Early Tertiary forest – the Barossa Valley 40 million years ago
The Barossa and Sub-Regionality In this paper I would like to present some early ideas from landscape mapping of the Barossa Valley that I have been doing over the last 6 years. This is the first time I have discussed this research. The idea of sub-regionality in the Barossa goes back a long way but it has accelerated in the last two decades with many wineries having single vineyard wines with references on their labels to local names such as Stonewell, Ebenezer, Hill of Grace, the Lyndoch Valley and the like.
I believe that before wine people begin to think of lines and boundaries to define these sub-regions and draw these on a map they first need the right map. I have come to the conclusion that the best type of map is not a geological map, it is not a soil map, and it is not a topographic map but is a landscape map.
I will spend the first part of the paper developing a 35 million year history of the Barossa Valley. In the second part we will use what we have learnt to construct for the first time a landscape map of the Barossa valley. We will divide the landscape into units defined by a number of differences that makes each landscape different to its neighbour. These units may or may not have relevance or even coincide with sub-regions that winemakers feel express themselves in changing flavours. Some though do.
If none of what I set out has relevance to the general ideas of the site and its effect on wine, the debate about terroir, it will at least have achieved another of my aims which is to explain in non technical terms the very long history that has been needed to form the Barossa Valley. This type of information is useful to visitors to the Barossa and those who are required to talk about the Barossa.
A Brief History of How the Barossa Was Formed The great continents of Antarctica and Australia began to part 70 million years ago. About 50 million years ago this parting caused the area to the west of Adelaide to sink and a series of fault lines developed which sliced into the Mount Lofty Ranges and one of these now forms the eastern edge of McLaren Vale.
Figure 3. Antarctica and Australia separating causes faulting in the Early Tertiary. White, (1994).
Sometime later, this date is uncertain but the best we have says around 35 million years ago, a fault developed on the eastern side of the Barossa and a small adjoining basin formed along the western side of this fault. This is called the Stockwell fault.
Figure 4. Adelaide Geological map with the Barossa Valley as a pale yellow colour. Thomson,(1969)
Explaining Faulting What is a fault? How did this fracture occur and what would actually have happened?
To help understand this critical development I would like to quote two passages from the Voyage of the Beagle. They refer to a great earthquake that shook Chile on February 20th 1835.
“The mayor-domo at Quiriquina told me that the first notice he received of the earthquake was finding both the horse he rode, and himself, rolling together on the ground. Rising up he was again thrown down. He also told me that some cows which were standing on the steep sides of the island were rolled into the sea.”
“At the island of S. Maria the elevation was greater; on one part Captain Fitz Roy found beds of putrid mussel-shells still adhering to the rocks, ten feet above high water mark: the inhabitants had formerly dived at low water spring tides for these shells.”
Alas in the Barossa nothing as dramatic as these Chilean observations would have happened. An earthquake would have created a break in the land surface but whether it would have been visible as a scarp or a just a sag in the surface is hard to say. At best the fault line was a modest affair but it defined the eastern boundary of what was to become the Barossa Valley and the land surface to the west sank a little. Earthquake rumbles continued, enough indeed to crack the hard iron surface that had resisted erosion for 165 million years.
It would be nice to have a snap shot of the Barossa from the start and for each million years after, so we could have a running picture of what was happening. Alas, all we have is what we can discover in the way of preserved land surfaces and these will be rarer the further we go back in time. By their nature an old surface will only survive if it was created by a special event, one that gives the surface a chance to be preserved. Let’s see how many we can find?
The Barossa Valley – the Start Running water is a very powerful erosional agent and while our iron rich surface can repair by re-cementing cracks and fissures the repeated faulting kept re-opening them allowing water to run down the fissures and slowly eat into the surface. As the valley grew in size erosion accelerated along the rising eastern surface and later spread to the western side.
Underlying the thick iron rich cap which has the technical term laterite and was perhaps 2 to 5 metres thick there are many metres of very soft and very fine grained pale cream to creamy grey clay. Once this is exposed it erodes very, very quickly. The original minerals that made up the fresh rock were totally reconstituted by the long weathering cycle-a significant feature that makes the Barossa different to most other vineyard regions. The primary minerals of the basement rocks corrode and may go into solution to form new minerals such as those rich in iron that formed the old cap or degrade into the soft clays referred to. The most resistant mineral quartz is much harder to dissolve (although it can happen) and survives lower down in the weathering profile and after the clays have been washed away it is the quartz that is left in the stream channels and spreads over the valley floor. During periods of gentle water flow the clays and fine grained muds settle out with the quartz.
There is no trace of the old cap at the base of the Barossa Valley, under the sediments, so it and the underlying clay layer were removed presumably by a stream running towards Lyndoch. Water boreholes tell us the first sediments were deposited on deeply weathered bed rock not on a fresh rock surface so some of the old weathered surface remained. This tends to suggest that the early streams were not vigorous enough to cut through the full sequence of weathered rock.
In this lower Barossa sequence there is also much evidence of carbonaceous matter and even weak seams of soft brown coal. This implies that after the first water washed sediments there were long periods of calm where the sediment that accumulated was mostly that of decaying plants and trees. Periodic jolting and uplift saw further layers of sands and muds deposited. These sediments the oldest in the Barossa Valley are not exposed and are only known from water bores. In the deepest parts of the valley about 60-80 metres of sediment accumulated. It is likely that streams flowed from both sides of the Barossa Valley to a central stream.
Perhaps this first phase of sedimentation in the valley lasted from 35 million years to 15 million years. When this phase of ‘valley building’ petered out the Barossa Valley, as defined by these valley sediments, not a wider definition based on vineyard distribution, was about 3.5 kilometres wide in the north and 2.5 kilometres wide in the south. This is a little more than half today’s valley width again based on the narrow definition of a valley filled with sediments.
Evidence of the North Para Emerges Next it is believed that the water course of the valley moved from the eastern side to the western side of the valley as a ‘proto’ North Para River cut deeply into the basement rocks. This river was to the west of the Barossa Valley, as defined by the newly laid sediments, and why a new river course was cut is not known. There may have been a stream there already but we will never know. This renewal of vigorous stream activity may have marked a change to a much wetter, though still warm and humid climate. This stream was swift enough to erode away what remained of the older weathered surface and cut down into fresh bed rock. Steeply sided stream gullies can be seen at Rowland Flat and these were initially filled with quartz rich, rounded cobbles and pebbles that are well washed, meaning they contain little clay or mud. These early deposits pass upwards into finer but well sorted quartz rich sandy sediments. These same sediments were also deposited in streams and gullies on the eastern edge of the Barossa Valley and they presumably flowed into the proto North Para. As the original gullies filled it seems that the streams moved back and forth over a wider area, a braided pattern, though it is uncertain if the sands they left behind covered any of the first sediments that filled the Barossa Valley though it seems likely that they did at least at the southern end. A similar stream flowed down the western side of the Lyndoch Valley and the two streams merged at Lyndoch.
Figure 5. The first of two stages of stream development in the Barossa Valley with the early stream being replaced by the proto North Para River.
Figure 6. The second stage – the Proto North Para replacing the first stream. The Current North Para follows some of this Ancient River Valley
The proto North Para thus cut the original stream channel which is followed by the current North Para from south of Nuriootpa to Rowland Flat. At Rowland Flat the current North Para may have incised a new channel or else it has deepened a gully that was part of the proto North Para. At Rowland Flat the North Para has cut into the basement and is now 10 metres lower than the proto North Para – the evidence of which hangs high up in the North Para Gorge.
The sediments that we can see from this second period are not very thick and as they are coarse it seems sensible to see them as the result of a sudden climate change which produced fast flowing steams which could shift large cobbles. Streams brought sediment in from the gentle slopes of the western range but there is little evidence of upward movement of this range through the long history of the Barossa. It may also mark a period of renewed uplift along the eastern hills leading to further stripping of older surfaces and with steeper stream gradients a more vigorous erosional cycle commenced.
I speculate that this happened quickly and went from 15 to 13 million years. Perhaps 5-10 metres of sands were deposited.
Formation of Barossa Ironstone This activity was halted by the onset of a hot dry period with sparse rainfall and when it did rain little sediment was moved but iron from the crumbling old cap went into solution and trickled down the streams and flowed out onto the valley floor. The result of this hot spell and iron enriched water was to cement the surface of those quartz gravels recently deposited. This is an unusual and unique surface and the Barossa Ironstone forms a very tough cemented cap, as tough as concrete and from 10 centimetres to several metres in thickness. This surface is exposed among the western ridges, widens and underlies the Gomersal Plain and outcrops in numerous places south west to Lyndoch where it merges with the same surface that developed along the western and central part of the Lyndoch Valley. It may have a more widespread coverage than is currently known across the Barossa Valley although this is not indicated by water bores. Against that a single outcrop has been found on the eastern side of the Valley suggesting this surface was more widespread.
This was the stone used by early settlers as a building stone and numerous quarries and pits dot the western side of the Barossa. The tough nature of this ironstone has acted as a protective cap, just like the older 200 million year surface did, against erosion. Remarkably, outcrops can be followed along the western ranges for 15 kilometres and these preserve the stream gullies of that time and are fossilised stream courses. Two have been identified and its likely there is a third. In places the Barossa Ironstones are near the crest of hills or are the crest meaning that the surrounding hills have been removed and the valley floor with its stream is now the hill line.
How long should we say this climate change lasted? My guess is it took a long time to set in and finished abruptly. Sediments above this surface show minor signs that similar conditions were briefly repeated. I assign a 3 million year interval to the formation of this land surface with the condition that formed it finishing 10 million years ago.
Figure 7. The building stone of the early Barossa settlers-Barossa Ironstone – the Langmeil Road building 1861.
Figure 8. Barossa Ironstone grading down into water washed sediments in the Lyndoch Valley.
Figure 9. Another picture showing the Barossa Ironstone this one from Seppeltsfield.
The Climate Turns from Hot and Dry to Warm and Wet A return to a wetter period followed and sediments identical to those below the Barossa Ironstone were again deposited. Coarse, quartz rich gravels initially, but they graded quickly to finer quartz rich clays and muds and then rapidly upwards into fine, white to yellow, and yellow grey clays. The lower section is notable for being stained with rusted, clay particles and in quarries show a red and pink hue. These sediments were laid down by the same braided stream as previously and are consistent with those expected from the continuing erosion of the old iron rich surface. The fine white clays have their origin in the soft clay layers that have formed under the old iron rich cap. The coarser sediments filled the gullies cut by the proto North Para and then spread across the valley floor. It is these sediments that cover most of the surface of the floor of the Barossa Valley today and it is upon them that the vineyards along the central core of the Barossa are planted. At a maximum they are about 50 metres thick.
From water bores a map has been made of the Barossa Valley showing the thickness of sediments.
Figure 10. The thickness of sediments that make up the Barossa Valley. Cobb,(1986).
Figure 11. The Rowland Flat quarry sands taken in the sand quarry at Rowland Flat. Similar sands make up most of the sedimentary pile that filled the Barossa Valley.
At about 5 million years a sedimentary cycle of 30 million years came to a close. For much of this time the Valley was in equilibrium with the bounding hills meaning that uplift of the eastern ranges and sinking of the valley occurred at about the same rate as evidenced by the gentle sedimentary cycle. So the ranges as they seen today did not exist back then and may have been only a few metres higher than the Barossa Valley. It is also worth recalling that the Mount Lofty-Fleurieu Peninsula was enclosed to the east, for long periods, by the Murray-Darling Sea which would have had a profound effect on the climate. The maximum thickness of sediment that filled the Barossa Valley is about 130-140 metres though on average it is less than 100 metres. This gives a rough rate of deposition of 1 millimetre every 20 years in the thickest sections or 1 millimetre every 30 years on average.
From 5 Million Years to the Present After the last of the main sedimentary cycle that filled the Barossa Valley there was a period of quiet with no uplift or sedimentation. Climate conditions began to change rapidly as the current ice age developed, the significance of which is not only a cooling and drying continent meaning less water erosion, but also fierce winds. At some point the Mount Lofty Ranges again faulted and the eastern range began to rise rapidly. And for the first time they rose quicker than they could be eroded.
From this time to the present a great number of land surfaces have been identified. I have not been able to untangle the full sequence of events though work continues. Fortunately much of this is not relevant to a debate on sub-regionality of the Barossa – so much of it is skipped, though a general summary of what has been discovered is provided. In this period though some land surfaces have been created that have an immense bearing on sub-regionality and these are discussed.
Importance of the Eastern Slopes of the Barossa Valley This renewal of faulting shook loose the bright red soils that had formed on the Eastern Range and these were washed into the Barossa Valley particularly in the NE corner of the Valley where they form a thick wedge of sediments, often pebbly, which can be greater than 20 metres thick and possibly as much as 40 metres. These sediments can be found along most of the eastern side though they are strongest north of Angaston and south of Rowland Flat. They have not washed out across the Valley floor as has at times been reported. Indeed it is surprising that almost no pebble or scree layers are found in any dams that have been dug into the flat parts of the Barossa Valley.
Figure 12. An erosional cutting showing 8 metres of the red soils in St. Kitts Creek, Northern Barossa.
The renewed and vigorous uplift has been reported elsewhere in the Mount Lofty Ranges with suggestions of 600 metres of upward movement. We have an example in the Barossa of the Barossa Ironstone being elevated 270 metres from its likely position near the Valley floor. Here is the effect of this faulting on sands deposited in the period 15-13 million years ago.
Figure 13. An example of the pebbly sands that underlie the Barossa Ironstone. These sediments have been turned upright by recent movement on the Stockwell fault, the name given to the fault that formed along the eastern side of the Barossa Valley, 35 million years ago. This photo was taken just south of Stockwell and is as close as we can get to seeing the actual fault line.
Figure 14. A schematic cross section of the Barossa Valley showing how the major elements are arranged. Not to scale.
A Summary of Recent Events in the Barossa Valley There are numerous land surfaces that we do not have time to discuss in detail and these include;
recent windblown sands of which there are two and possibly three and vary in colour from grey-white to pale red brown; surfaces that have washed over other surfaces of which the Barossa has many; surfaces showing advanced calcium deposition; recent scree deposits that are younger than the large deposits that flowed off the eastern ranges, and many unusual soil types which remain unexplained. The dates of these are problematical although most have occurred in the last few 100,000 years and many have developed over the last 50,000 years. Some are discussed in the following section that divides the Barossa Valley and surrounds into landscape areas or sub-regions.
Figure 15 – 17 depict recent layering showing surfaces being overlain by younger surfaces.
Figure 15. Central Barossa Valley
Figure 16. North Para Gorge
Figure 17. Lyndoch sand quarry
Other important landscape events include stream capture and diversion and there is some evidence that in this period the North Para flowed North West towards Kapunda and joined St. Kitts Creek while the Tanunda Creek has recently diverted and previously flowed down Rocky Valley.
Figure 18 shows a Time Chart comparing the History of Sedimentation with the History of the Many Land surfaces. This diagram attempts to show by the thickness of the red lines that a land surface can have no thickness in the history of sedimentation but can have taken millions of years to be created.
Figure 18. Time chart of Sedimentation
Part II The Landscape Surfaces of the Barossa Valley The history we have built up over the 35 million year age of the Barossa Valley can be used to divide the land surface into discrete sub-regions. The current surface is to some extent a combination of all the previous surfaces that existed over this time and this is an important concept to understand when thinking about land surfaces. This is illustrated in our chart. While work continues on the land surfaces of the Barossa Valley currently 13 sub-regions are recognised.
Figure 19. A Time Chart of the History of Sedimentation and History of the Land surfaces
Figure 19 shows a Time Chart of the History of Sedimentation and History of the Land surfaces this time with the red lines cut into. This diagram attempts to show how the current land surface of the Barossa Valley is made from cutting into all the previous land surfaces (the red lines of various thicknesses) that have existed.
The Nodular Iron Surface – Koonunga Region of the North West-200 million years The north-west corner of the Barossa Valley contains the last remnants of a great surface that covered much of Southern Australia. The iron rich cap rock (termed laterite) that has protected this Barossa surface is 200 million years old. Over the last 35 million years it has been slowly crumbling and is now absent in the rest of the Barossa Valley. The remnants that remain in this sub-region are underlain by a deep section of fine clays that are very soft and easily eroded. Lower down in this weathered profile the only original mineral that remains are quartz grains. Because of these surviving cap rocks and large areas of deeply weathered rock this area has enough unique characters to make it a sub-region.
Figure 20. The Iron Cap which is made up of rounded nodules enriched with iron which cement together and form long lasting tough hard caps.
The Greenock Hills Surface – 35 million years to recent This surface reveals what happens when the protective cap rock of the Nodular Iron Surface is eroded. Areas of the weathered rock under the cap do exist but these are fast disappearing. This sub-region is controlled by the underlying grain of the basement rocks which trend north east-south west. As the old surface has been stripped the underlying relief of the basement geology now controls the development of the land surface. Softer rocks are eroded and tougher rocks become hill lines. The valley streams such as Greenock Creek and Marananga Creek are associated with very deep red brown alluvium which has been stripped from the hills. There are several distinctive valleys such as Seppeltsfield. Because of the exposure of the basement rocks, which can be still deeply weathered and the unusual nature of the ridge lines and valleys this is worthy of being a sub-region.
Figure 21. Looking south west along the Marananga Valley over the Gnadenfrei Church with the Barossa Valley Estate Winery in the middle distance. This is an excellent example of the type of hill and valley land Greenock Hills land surface.
The Gomersal Plains – 35 million years to recent A dramatic land surface that is controlled by a wide sheet of underlying Barossa Ironstone which being impermeable produces a perched water table. This leads to the cracking black soils of summer which are such a feature of this region and leads to waterlogged soils during the winter months. These soils are very black and are most un-Barossa which we associate with red soils. As you go south on this sub-region the Barossa Ironstone has been eroded and cracked and the soils take on a redder hue. Vineyards are planted on the southern end. While not important viticulturally this sub-region is one of the show pieces of the Barossa because of its unusual formation. Along the western rim recent windblown sands have deposited.
Figure 22. An aerial view of the northern section of the Gomersal Plains showing the green plain which is excellent for cereal crops but often too wet for vines.
The Central Valley Surface – 5 million years to recent North of Tanunda Creek or more correctly north of Chateau Tanunda and Basedow Road the Barossa Valley is remarkably flat. This is the central core of the Barossa Valley and extensive vineyards are planted on sediments aged from 10 to 5 million years though most of the plantings are on the most recent sediments at 5 million years. There are younger sediments that overlie these older sediments which are windblown and also water borne. These younger sediments are grey-white sands. This is a remarkably stable part of the Barossa Valley and even though the Eastern Ranges have risen rapidly quite recently little evidence can be found of sediment being washed off this range and flooding across the valley floor. An interesting and detailed soil survey of the Barossa Valley was done by Northcote in 1953-1954 and these observations and my own suggest that this surface could be further sub-divided. Regions such as Vine Vale for example have extensive areas of sandy soils which needs an explanation.
Figure 23. A general view of the flat Central Surface looking east to the Eastern Range and taken in the northern Barossa Valley.
The Nodular Calcrete Surface – 3 million years to recent Numerous dams dot the surface of the flat lying part of the Barossa Valley. These reveal a lot about the underlying sediments and a noticeable feature to look for is – do they show evidence that calcium has gone into solution or not? In most cases there is little evidence of calcium layers or nodules although they do occasionally occur. They are prominent though in a sub-region that extends from Nuriootpa to the North West where all exposures show prominent calcium deposition as calcrete. Growers and wine makers please note this is not ‘limestone’. Several exposures reveal thick calcrete deposition and even calcrete doming where the growth of the calcrete layer pushes up the surface soils. This sub-region is not surprising as it coincides with an old stream and a current damp course which is exactly where you find calcrete well developed. This is part of the evidence that suggest that the North Para River for a brief time in the last few hundred thousand years flowed north to Kapunda.
Figure 24. A thick section of calcrete showing how it cements pebbles and displaces the surrounding soils. This photo was taken in an exposure in a drainage channel in the northern Barossa Valley.
The Eastern Slopes Surface – last 300,000 years The long period of the Barossa’s sedimentary history ceased about 5 million years ago. Sometime later the Eastern Range began to rise and at a faster pace than erosion could wear it down creating the landscape that we see today. It is possible to define within less than a hundred metres a lift from the floor of the Barossa Valley to the slopes that make up the sub-region called the Eastern Slopes. The underlying sediments of the slopes are bright red soils and rubble that has washed off the Eastern Range. On the and lower slopes these overlie the sediments and soils of the Central Valley Surface while higher up they overlie fresh and weathered basement. In the north eastern corner, the St. Kitts area, very thick red brown soils with layers of rounded but unsorted cobbles and pebbles form a thick sequence possibly 20 or more metres thick. After the St. Kitts area which extends down to Stockwell this sub-region is quite narrow and does not widen again until we reach the slopes north of Hoffnungsthal where red pebbly soils underlie the vineyards. This is a natural sub-region because of the slope. Observations from vineyard regions around the world suggest that slopes have an important bearing on grape flavours and because of this and the origin of the soils and underlying sediments (which are soils off the range) these slopes form a natural sub-region.
Figure 25. The slopes of the Eastern Slopes Surface with their bright red soils with a view looking south to the Bethany Winery.
The Lyndoch Valley – 500,000 years to recent This has proven to be a difficult valley to understand. An old surface of the Barossa Ironstone is well exposed along the western side and into the centre of the valley showing there was a water course before 13 million years ago and most of these water borne sediments have been turned into Barossa Ironstone although there are sands exposed below the Ironstone. We have no evidence from the valley that now exists as to when it was formed. Small hills of weathered basement rise through the valley floor, such as near St. Jacobi, which constrict the width of the valley and all the evidence suggests it is quite recent. If the valley is older we have no evidence, so it would seem plausible to say that the Lyndoch Valley is quite recent and the shape we see is a few hundreds of thousands of years in age. The Lyndoch Valley forms an enclosed natural sub-region and is restricted to the flat part of the overall valley. It is drained by the Lyndoch Creek which flows north into the North Para at Chateau Yaldara.
Figure 26. Looking north from Gods Hill Road down across the slopes of the Lyndoch Valley to the flatter lying Lyndoch Valley and up over the slopes that form the northern side of this valley.
The Slopes of the Lyndoch Valley – 10 million years to recent The slopes flowing down into the Lyndoch Valley make a sub-region with the western side being preserved by the Barossa Ironstone which was formed from 13 to 10 million years ago. The north east side is recent in age being part of the post 5 million year uplift, but they are placed in the same sub-region as it is believed slopes have an important bearing on grape flavours (refer to the Eastern Slopes sub-region).
Figure 27. Gods Hill Road cuts across the southern slopes of the Lyndoch Valley.
The Rolling Landscape of the Southern Barossa – last 300,000 years The important landscape feature of the Barossa Valley south of Tanunda is the rolling nature of the surface versus the flatter nature of the surface north of Tanunda and that is why it deserves to be treated as a sub-region. The landscape is being eroded rapidly by the creeks, such as Jacobs Creek, that flow off the Eastern Ranges into the North Para River. The North Para is cutting a deep gorge into basement rocks and while the gorge is at its most impressive at Rowland Flat the erosion into the basement has now worked its way well north of Tanunda. As the gorge deepens the streams that flow into it in turn deepen and cut back further into the Valley sediments which lie mostly east of the North Para. In simple terms the southern end of the Valley is being quickly eroded with the sediments being flushed out via the North Para, into the Gawler River and on to the Gulf of St. Vincent. Sediments and rock rubble has tumbled off the rising Eastern Range and fringes this sub-region and is part of the Eastern Slopes sub-region, although it is surprising how little of this rubble there is.
The sediments exposed are those deposited above the Barossa Ironstone layer and are the same as those of the Central Valley Surface but depending upon what stage of erosion they are at are either of the same age or lower down in the sequence.
There is another important reason why this area is a sub-region and that is because the flatter surfaces, not yet affected by erosion, mostly north of Krondorf Road, the Kabininge area, have a deep profile of black to brown black soils (called locally Biscay soils). The reason for this soil colour is not understood and while it is not as black as the cracking black soils of the Gomersal Plain they may be related. This would mean that this area is underlain by Barossa Ironstone. While Barossa Ironstone is found just east of the North Para in the southern Barossa no other outcrops have been found to support this assumption and it is not noted in the logs of water bores. If proof is found for this area being underlain by Barossa Ironstone this in turn would require some revisions to the thinking in this paper. These soils extend beyond Tanunda Creek where they intermingle with redder soils till about Basedow Road though at this stage the sub-region is cut off at Tanunda Creek.
So this end of the valley would have looked like the Central Valley surface until erosion from the North Para and the tributaries that cross this surface started to actively erode and this creates the unusual rollercoaster feel as you drive from Tanunda to Rowland Flat.
Figure 28. What better way to illustrate the Rolling Landscape of the Southern Barossa than showing the roller coaster roads south of Tanunda to Rowland Flat.
The Red Pebble Soils of Rowland Flat – 100,000 years Of all the sub-regions discussed the Red Pebble Soils of Rowland Flat may be the most interesting. This sub-region covers a small area and is noted for the bright red colour of the soils and mixed within a wide assortment of roughly rounded pebbles and cobbles many of which are granitic, the latter not being observed anywhere else in the Barossa Valley. This surface varies in thickness quickly and overlies older sediments of the Rolling Surface of the Southern Barossa and down into the creek bed of Jacobs Creek before it joins the North Para River. These sediments are landslide muds and pebbles that have been shaken loose from the high ranges around the Kaiser Stuhl probably by earthquakes at times when they were saturated with water.
The Red Pebble Soils are a very uneven surface lying on the top of hill crests and in the creek beds. The figure 29 shows them overlying older Barossa sands while figure 30 shows Jacobs Creek slicing through this surface and producing a wonderful exposure.
Figure 29
Figure 30
Hoffnungsthal Surface – 100,000 years to recent Hoffnungsthal has great significance as a landscape feature because of its small drainage catchment with no drainage outlet. This is most unusual in a range being actively lifted and at the same time swiftly eroded. It is indeed hard to believe that since this basin formed it has never been filled enough times to overflow. Such a regular filling and overflow would overtime cause erosion of the rim at the overflow point and create a normal creek. This leads to the conclusion that it is a very young feature which in turn means recent uplift and movement at this end of the range. This in turn may be connected with the rise that separates the Lyndoch Valley from the Barossa Valley and may be responsible for altering the direction of drainage of the North Para at Rowland Flat. The North Para as explained originally flowed on to Lyndoch and Gawler and the right angle bend its now makes at Rowland Flat is one of the most spectacular land forms in the Barossa. It is likely that this dramatic change in direction is a recent event though against this the gorge has cut so far down into fresh bedrock that more time may be required to produce what we currently see. The age of the North Para Gorge is also linked of course to the age suggested for the Rolling Surface of the Southern Barossa as it has created that surface.
Figure 31. Hoffnungsthal Lagoon as it looks in a wet winter; but why does it never fill to overflowing?
Grange Country – 50 million years to recent The Grange surface sits between The Nodular Iron Surface and the Greenock Hills Surface and is a hybrid of both containing deeply weathered rocks characteristic of the northern surface and a land surface controlled by the ‘grain’ of the recently exposed basement rocks typical of the Greenock Hills Surface. It would not warrant a separate sub-region apart from one remarkable feature that is possesses that is uncommon elsewhere in the Barossa Valley. It is the only area in the Barossa Valley that has extensive sand cover and that varies from a thin veneer to one metre deep drifts and includes from six to eight east-west trending sand dunes that rise from one metre to four metres above the surface. These windblown sands maybe of recent origin being post the last ice age which finished 18,000 years ago although they may have been created by the fierce winds that would have blown during the colder period when more of the coastline was exposed. They overlie of course the same soils as are found in the sub-regions to the north and south. The originator of Grange, Max Schubert spoke in glowing terms of the wines that come from the Kalimna Sands and this is supported by current winemakers. Many vineyards in this region make wine that is included in Grange or can be of Grange quality.
Why sand is so common in this area is still being investigated as is its origin which is a long way away and as suggested may be from the exposed sea floor of St. Vincent’s Gulf and Spencer’s Gulf which would date back to 18,000 years.
Figure 32. A striking exposure of a section through a Kalimna sand dune showing how the dunes are made up of many windy events.
About 15 individual layers in the Kalimna sands can be counted and these are remarkable as the crusty layers, one to two millimetres thick are red brown in colour and show slight pitting on the surface. It is thought that they represent stormy events with clouds of red dust from inland Australia coating the sand dunes as light rain began to fall.
The Vineyards of the North Para Flats-last 200,000 years until recent This sub-region is not marked on our map but it is worth mentioning that a few vineyards are on river flats that adjoin the North Para River. These are found next to the North Para south of the Peter Lehmann-Richmond Grove wineries and are mostly in the far southern Barossa near Rowland Flat. They are planted in rich river alluvium probably of recent age. River flats that are planted with vines also adjoin Tanunda Creek. Some of these river flats have cut back many hundreds of metres into the older Barossa sediments a process that may have taken hundreds of thousands of years.
The Thirteen Land Surfaces of the Barossa Valley At this stage it is proposed that 13 sub-regions of the Barossa Valley can be recognised. It is very hard to date these surfaces and the ages given are at best an educated guess although bounded by what we know about the age of similar features elsewhere in the Mount Lofty Ranges. The thirteen land surfaces or sub-regions are as follows:
Figure 33 The Thirteen Land Surfaces of the Barossa Valley
Summary Hopefully this map will serve several purposes. It will assist in the ongoing debate about sub-regionality of the Barossa Valley as defined by differing wine types. It also provides another way of thinking about the Barossa Valley which will be of use to those who need to talk about the Barossa Valley and about its wines and why they are different. This paper sets out for the first time what has been learnt about the Barossa Valley since mapping the landscape began in 2001. This work continues and many problems remain that are not mentioned here. With that said the general summary given is unlikely to alter in a major way.
References and further reading Cobb, M.A., (1986): Groundwater Resources of the Barossa Valley, Report of Investigations 55. Department of Mines and Energy, Geological Survey of S.A.
Drexel, J.F. and Preiss, W.V. (Eds), (1995): The geology of South Australia. Vol. 2, The Phanerozoic. South Australia Geological Survey.
Northcote, K.H., J.S. Russell, C.B. Wells (1949-1955): Various Soil Maps of the Barossa and Surrounds, CSIRO Division of Soils.
Thomson, B.P. (1969): Adelaide Geological Map, Geological Survey of South Australia.
Veevers, J.J., Powell, C.McA. & Roots, S.R. (1991): Review of seafloor spreading around Australia. 1. Synthesis of the patterns of spreading. Aust. J. Earth Sci. 38, 373-389.
White, Mary. E. (1994): After the Greening-The Browning of Australia. Kangaroo Press.
South Australian Winegrape Utilisation and Pricing Survey, (2007). Phylloxera and Grape Industry Board of South Australia.
South Australian Winegrape Utilisation and Pricing Survey, (2007): Phylloxera and Grape Industry Board of South Australia, Stepney SA.
$15 or $55 – Can we really taste a difference? Well most times not. At best any quality improvement between a $15 bottle and a $55 one is marginal. Oft-times there isn’t any at all. And many times the cheaper wine tastes better.
Just something to keep in mind when that next bottle is chosen. Remember – people don’t drink the label nor the price tag. It’s what’s in the glass that counts.
And it certainly does at Glug.
Many of the small batch wines we bottle and sell for $20 or less are from Barossa boutique makers where their price is $50 or more.
They find it the best way to maximize their profits.
The result of sourcing the extra barrels that the makers had left after their own bottlings.
They are proof that “$15 or $55 – Can we really taste a difference?” Most times not.
And another interesting view that dearer wine does not mean better wine comes from John Cleese who once invited a group of his friends over for a wine tasting. He found that his guests could not distinguish the wine from a $5 bottle of wine from a $200 bottle or from a $20 bottle. And for good measure they could not reliably tell a white wine from a red in a blind taste test.
Dearer wine does not mean better wine. John Cleese showed that
Dearer wine does not mean better wine. John Cleese showed that when he invited a group of his friends over for a wine tasting.
The guests could not distinguish the wine from a $5 bottle of wine from a $200 bottle or from a $20 bottle. And for good measure they could not reliably tell a white wine from a red in a blind taste test.
John Cleese’s wonderful video from 20 or so years ago Wine for the Confused remains a common sense introduction to tasting.
And no more so than when declaring that your taste should dictate what wine you drink and buy, not the opinion of some stuffy wine critic that you read about in some magazine.
Cleese clearly agrees with the view that wine evaluation has been shrouded in snobbishness for so long that it has become a major source of comedy. As Fran Lebowitz wrote, “Intellectuals talk about ideas; ordinary people talk about things; but boring people talk about wine!”
The self appointed expert wine judges and wine writers hinder not help with their infatuation with a belief there is a significant difference in quality as you advance up the price scale.
A look at our studies of the markedly different assessments on gold medal winning riesling and shiraz at Australia’s 2023 capital city wine shows indicates what a nonsense that is.
That dearer wine does not mean better wine was the verdict also of a major study publlshed in the Journal of Wine Economics in 2008 which we summarise in our On Tasting section.
Our advice is don’t let the experts bamboozle you and don’t expect much difference in how much more enjoyable a drink will get when you outlay more tha $20 a bottle.
What contributors bring to a discussion of the ‘wine crisis’ is moulded by their working history. Mine is thinking sales and how to increase my share. The number 50 rolls over in 2025 and I can then say every day from mid-1975 my focus has been on one simple task; how to sell more bottles of Australian wine.
Articles by Croser, Clancy, Madigan, Purbrick, Smart et al list the issues which have created the large grape oversupply of almost 400,000 tonnes. Specifically poor export sales mean this surplus is steadily compounding.
To date little mention has been made of the role of sales and marketing and the vision of the One Sector Plan misses the No 1 topic, what is the perception of the Australian wine brand and how do we make it more appealing. Indeed, nothing can rank above how customers perceive brand Australia.
As well two aspects of the crisis story not discussed need to be considered.
Decades ago, the economist Dr Barry Hughes noted how sensitive wine exports were to the exchange rate. Ours is a minerals-based economy prone to periods of currency strength though it is disturbing that the current currency weakness has not helped exports.
The other is the endless financial engineering which has ripped the heart from Australian wine. What impact this has had on exports cannot be quantified, yet the endless changes in marketing and sales has weakened our long-term vision.
One example to illustrate. Rosemount was powering ahead in the U.S. and popped up on the cover of Wine Spectator at will. Finally absorbed for around $1.2 to $1.5 billion, Rosemount is now worth what, zero. They were the A team for sales. Destroy companies like Rosemount a dozen times as we have, and you get todays result.
Perhaps we are watching the final stages of this 50 years of upheaval as Accolade begets McGuigan and Jacobs Creek while Treasury ponders dividing the company. This also will not end well.
The articles by Croser, Clancy, Madigan, Purbrick, Smart et al highlight the range of issues and the meaning of two of these is troubling and is the focus of this contribution.
Why is wine quality divided into two halves and what is the meaning and relevance of Australia’s unique terroirs.
References to quality note a commercial sector and premium sector, premium and non-premium, fine wine and branded commodity wines, while the use of ‘inland grown grapes’ implies there is a non-inland group. The term industrial wine has also been used, often by visitors, to refer to commercial wines. A further division is cool climate versus warm climate though this does not directly equate with the other terms since both can discussed as premium.
The second is the use of the term terroir as part of the fine wine story particularly as used by Croser with the idea of ‘Australia’s unique terroirs’ and ‘distinguished sites’. These terms also relate to the view that premium wines reflect a sense of place, usually small in size, versus other vineyards and districts that presumably do not.
In the late 1990s I dusted off my early profession as a geologist to better understand the creation of wine flavours. I wanted to know how the taste of a wine linked back to the climate-weather and geography, the human influence of the grower-maker and what I call the X factor being the influence of the ground below the vines.
In The Landscapes and Vineyards of the Murray Basin, Australian and New Zealand Grower and Winemaker, No 621 October 2015, I asked why this uniform area of 300,000 square kilometres was not seen as an expression of a sense of place. I have found the wine quality to be excellent so if that is not the issue what is it?
An idea of the thinking at Wine Australia is shown in the press release of 16th January 2017 which was headlined, ‘$5.3 million to understand and refine the expression of Australian Shiraz terroir’.
‘Australia’s unique terroirs and how they influence wine style and quality is the centrepiece of a six-year, $5.3 million investment in new research and development (R&D) projects announced today by Wine Australia.
Dr Brian Croser AO, Deputy Chair of Wine Australia, said, ‘Australia makes wines of exceptional quality and finesse that reflect their provenance and terroir, but they don’t currently receive the international recognition they merit.
‘It is these wines that will most quickly elevate the image and reputation of all wines we produce. We are focused on building international recognition for our wines to increase demand and the price paid for all Australian wines.
‘We already know that unique Australian terroirs exist and that climate, topography, soil chemistry and soil physical properties are the most important factors contributing to the differences between wines from different sites.
‘What these projects seek to do is to understand how these environmental signals translate into physiological changes in grapevines that result in changes in berry composition and in turn result in the expression of terroir in wines.
‘When we understand how these environmental signals work, we can then understand how winegrowers can refine the expression of terroir and uniqueness in their vineyards, so that they can produce wines that express their unique terroir with greater confidence and obtain the premium such wines warrant.
‘We have focused on Shiraz because this is the variety that predominates in Australia. Shiraz is the most planted variety, with 26 per cent of Australia’s vineyard area; we have the oldest Shiraz vines in the world; and 40 per cent of Australia’s exports valued at more than $10 per litre FOB are Shiraz.
Finally, Dr Croser said, ‘This is the most exciting and insightful research project I have seen undertaken in the Australian wine community in my 40-year involvement’.
This project had problems since the underlying reasoning is problematical as it asks scientists to prove something that does not exist. Terroir is an advertising slogan developed by the French. Furthermore the press release implies that chemical compounds to do with tastes consumers can recognise will be discovered and these will be unique to Australia as in ‘Australia’s unique terroirs’.
Since geography is infinitely variable it follows that every patch of ground on earth and thus all vineyards are to some degree or other unique. As the differences between adjoining vineyards is small it follows that if they spread out to cover all the land surfaces, they would be gradational to each other.
Naturally such an imaginary surface is interrupted by unfavourable terrain or oceans. Since weather-climate is ubiquitous this also makes any influence gradational so for example warm climate vineyards are gradational between cool climate vineyards.
The only way a vineyard or district can claim to be unique is if the ground below the vines has chemical characters that are not found elsewhere. Such places do exist yet the vine being the same as other plants only use the same basic elements, available anywhere, or else applied as fertiliser, to set fruit. Thus, any such chemical differences are of no use.
However, there are uncommon geographical locations, limited in size, like the Grand Cru slopes of Chablis, which do have a recognised status for producing superior fruit. In this case geography makes the wine and in cooler regions this is about capturing warmth.
The Wine Australia press release of 2017 progressed to the final report being handed to Wine Australia in September 2022. This being Project No UA 1602 by Cassandra Collins and Paul Petrie and another 10 scientists.
Titled, Notes on the Terroir Study of the Barossa, the studies aim was, Understanding the drivers of terroir in the Barossa and Determine the marker compounds or chemical profiles for regionality/unique Australian Barossa Shiraz wines.
To summarise the scientists were asked to investigate a unique terroir even though, as expressed, terroir is a French marketing term and so cannot be defined. As well the only uniqueness a piece of land can show, in this case classified as a wine district, is if the geography-landscape alters the prevailing weather in a way that makes the taste impossible to duplicate at any other site on earth.
What this report tells us is best left to another place though it is hard to imagine another study will ever be needed and this report does not change the viewpoint set out above. What the report does is reveal the thinking behind the marketing of Wine Australia for the last six years.
Briefly.
Customers are not interested in the technical aspects of wine like the search for unique terroirs. And cannot taste the differences said to exist between premium and commercial.
I had great success selling large quantities of Murray Basin wines, particularly over the period 1996 to 2003, when the main source was the Griffith region.
Thus I am in favour of the Australian Commercial Wine Producers (ACWP) since I see the Murray Basin as the engine of Australian wine, a country with ambition, rather than the prevailing Wine Australia view of a cottage industry propped up with taxpayer support (refer Clancy, Wine Business Monthly 16th Feb 2024).
Wines remembering history - PB Burgoyne the wine merchant
PB Burgoyne, the name of Australia’s first great wine exporter, is being kept alive with the release of a 2022 Langhorne Creek Shiraz.
Burgoyne set up shop on Old Bond Street, London in 1871 For the next 50 years he strode across the Australian wine scene like a colossus being greatly feared and admired. Glug resurrected this brand in 1996 and it is now a treasured part of the portfolio.
The P.B.Burgoyne story is the inspiration for wines like the new vintage of the Langhore Creek Shiraz 2022 which is at an introductory price of $8 a bottle. It continues the wine merchant tradition of finding and bottling interesting wines from different locatiions.
News and views about wine in the Glug Wine Diary makes our site more than a retailer showing pictures of bottles with price tags. We believe that information other than just tasting notes can help make wine drinking more enjoyable.
Dolly Parton’s wine – An Appalachian Controlée? 1 August 2024 Gobal Drinks Intel
Country-and-western star Dolly Parton will launch her first wine range, Dolly Wines, in the UK in collaboration with Accolade Wines in September.
The Dolly Wines line comprises a French rosé and a prosecco …
The full Dolly Wines collection will also feature a chardonnay for the US market and a sparkling wine for Australia.
“Dolly herself was involved in creating this … down-to-earth range of wines, and we think they capture her captivating sense of fun and sparkle perfectly,” said Accolade Wines’ Europe marketing director, Tom Smith. “We’re confident the latest addition to the Accolade Wines portfolio will help drive category growth among two already popular categories– prosecco has the highest penetration in sparkling wine amongst wine shoppers, while the French rosé category is growing at 8.4%.”
First choose your wine and the chef chooses the food – 24 July 2024 The Times
Penty of wine lovers peruse the wine list before the menu when dining out, but L’Écrin at Hôtel de Crillon in Paris may be the only place where that is obligatory. [Xavier] Thuizat, who has just won the 2024 Michelin Sommelier award, keeps reappearing at the table with beautiful wines. “The kitchen don’t know what they are making until I call and say, ‘This is what the guests are drinking,’ ” he says. “Everything starts with the flavours, acidity, tannin and alcohol in the wine. From that we create the menu.”
350,000 bottles in the cellar – 19 July 2024 Rachel Speed in The Times
To celebrate its 150-year history, the Hôtel de Paris Monte-Carlo is granting guests access to its extraordinary wine collection for the first time. As I’m guided around the formerly very private wine cellar by Elvina Rossow, a Burgundy expert and one of the 14 sommeliers working under the chef sommelier Patrice Frank, the scale of this extraordinary collection becomes apparent.
.The Hôtel de Paris Monte-Carlo wine cellar
Opened in 1874, the cellars hold more than 350,000 bottles of wine of approximately 6,000 varieties, making it the largest hotel and restaurant cellar in the world.
How death of the dinosaurs led to birth of wine – 2 July 2024 The Times
“At the end of the Cretaceous period about 66 million years ago, an asteroid the size of a city ploughed into the Earth. A new study suggests this turned out to be a double blessing for our species. Not only did it wipe out the dinosaurs, allowing our ancient mammalian ancestors to thrive — it also gave us wine. The research describes the oldest fossilised grape pips to be found in the Americas.
Fossilised grape pips found in the Americas from about 60 million years ago bolster claim that extinction helped vines to flourish
They date from about 60 million years ago and, according to the scientists who found them, they bolster the theory that grape vines were able to take root around the world only after the large dinosaurs had perished.”
BHP the grape grower – 29 April 2024 The Australian Financial Review
“If BHP is successful in acquiring Anglo, the Vergelegen vineyards might – on face value – seem an unlikely addition to BHP’s portfolio of gritty mining assets.
Founded by a former boundary rider on a sheep farm in the Broken Hill district – German migrant Charles Rasp – BHP’s origins are distinctly more working class than Anglo’s.
But unbeknown to most Australians, BHP is a player in wine too. The miner owns the Ogilvie View vineyard in the NSW Hunter Valley, upon which about 45 hectares of vines are grown.
Unlike Vergelegen, which welcomes close to 80,000 tourists a year for picnics, restaurant lunches and heritage tours, Ogilvie View was not even open to cellar door visits when contacted by The Australian Financial Review last year.
Ogilvie’s grapes are sold to the Scarborough Wine Company, where their “creamy, buttery” flavours are distilled into bottles of Yellow Label Chardonnay. Yellow Label can be picked up from Dan Murphy’s for just $33 a bottle, making it almost five times cheaper than a bottle of 2018 Vergelegen V.
But if the BHP board is willing to splash close to $60 billion on Vergelegen’s owner, they will be forgiven if they celebrate with a glass of the South African winery’s best.”
A reviewer admitting he’s human – 2 May 2024 The Times
I enjoy The Times columnist Giles Coren’s writing so much I even read his reviews of British restaurants there’s no chance I’ll ever be able to visit. After his offering today I admire even more for admitting how his reviews can be influenced by things quite out of the control of the subject he’s writing about.
Restaurant reviewer Giles Coren admits a truth that should be remembered when reading wine reviews too!
Mr Coren writes how some weeks ago, he reviewed a pretty good restaurant in Oxford that let itself down in a few basic ways, “and although I was broadly positive about it, I did not let it off scot-free in the areas where it had failed, as I usually do when visiting independent restaurants outside London.” …
But in the case of this one in Oxford, where I might otherwise have overlooked the slightly under-informed service and the weird wine-pricing and also, perhaps, been more gushing about the food, I had my afternoon ruined by cancelled train services on the way home, overcrowded fill-in trains, no seat, a late return and compromised sleep, and woke up absolutely bloody furious. So when I sat down to write about my experiences of the previous day, my recollection was slightly jaundiced. I did not look back as happily as I might otherwise have done. I was still fair on the restaurant under scrutiny. I always am. But I was not full of the joys. I did not rejoice out of all proportion.
The following week, I admitted as much in print. For I was not ashamed. And below the line some people went tonto. How dare he, they asked, allow his personal mood and the travails of his day to affect his judgment? How dare he let extraneous issues creep into his evaluation? Think of the poor owners. How hard they had worked. …
Idiots. What do you think I am, ChatGPT? Some sort of Michelin restrobot sitting at a table for one, no booze, Parker 25 in the top pocket, writing in a vacuum, keeping score in a little leather notebook, returning for visit after visit to see how the thyme notes in the veal jus fluctuate across 17 sittings? No, I am living my life, inserting restaurants into it, like you do, trying to be positive, not always succeeding, some days ebullient, some melancholy, and the truth of life is that circumstances matter, experience is subjective, memories are vulnerable.
A Shakespeare birthday quote – 23 April 2024
A wine quotation seems an appropriate way to remember the supposed birth date of the great man.
Good company, good wine, good welcome, can make good people. Henry VIII, act 1, sc.4, l.6-7.
The two years you lost – The Times, 10 April
Raising a glass – Ben Elton is unmoved by anti-drinking campaigns. Noting one that said even moderate drinking will knock two years off your life, the writer says: “They don’t tell you which two years. It’s the last two, the rubbish two, the two you spend not recognising your kids and having to be taken to the toilet.” As far as Elton is concerned, he’s happy to sacrifice those years for some good claret. Maybe it should be prescribed?
At least they left the label alone – 24 February 2024
There’s one thing marketing managers know it’s that if you don’t keep changing designs then the higher-ups might wonder why they keep paying you. Perhaps that’s the reason Penfolds came out with a new costume for Grange.
New gift packaging for Grange
Each box is individually numbered and includes both a bandana and bottleneck tag designed by NIGO, as well as a certificate of authenticity. And for good measure real Grange lovers can buy a designed silk rug featuring a dyed purple grape design to reflect the limited-edition wine packaging. Each rug is handwoven over the course of two months by artisans in Nepal.
Your diarist’s only comment: at least they didn’t let NIGO loose on the actual wine label.
Touches of gold and mother-of-pearl – 17 February 2024
The French wine industry is long smitten with official rankings but Château Angélus has broken free of tradition with its touches of gold and mother-of-pearl. Saint Émilion vineyards, of which Château Angélus is one of the most prominent, historically have been jealous of the standing given to chateaux on the left bank of the Gironde by the Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855. It was not until 1955 that Saint Émilion was given its own rankings of Premier grand cru classé A, Premier grand cru classé B, and Grand cru classé and that simply led to a different kind of jealousy – who should be given which gong.
It took Château Angélus until 2012 to be elected to Premier grand cru classé A but that did not end the squabbling because of a system of classification reviews every 10 years. Angélus and two other top ranked chateaus decided to quit the system.
Left, as it were, to its own promotional devices Stéphanie de Boüard-Rivoal of Angélus turned to gold. His recently released 2022 vintage comes with no label in an engraved bottle instead. She said: ‘I wanted something with a touch of jewellery inspired by a beautiful mother-of-pearl bracelet offered to me by a very dear friend.’
James Halliday’s tasting note gobbledygook – 30 January 2024
From The Australian’s magazine comes this gem of a wine tasting note:
A wine with “shimmering tannins”? “Silk and satin rather than velvet”? What can this wine actually taste like? If you can explain it, to quote Rudyard Kipling: “By the livin’ Gawd that made you, You’re a better man than I am, Gunga Din!”
There’s a $50 Glug Wines voucher for the best description. Emails please to richard@glug.com.au
Missing a few bottles – 30 January 2024 From The Times
The Paris restaurant La Tour d’Argent recently did its first stocktake since 2020. It revealed 83 bottles missing from the cellar collection of about 300,000. “Ruling out speculation that the disappearance may be nothing more sinister than a bookkeeping dysfunction”, The Times reported,”La Tour d’Argent has filed a criminal lawsuit claiming to have fallen victim to theft. Parisian detectives have been put on the case.”
Why restaurants moved to those large glasses? 19 January 2024
Another definition of sociology to go with the famous finding that “taller men wear longer trousers.” Researchers from the UK’s Cambridge University have determined that people consume more alcohol when they use large wine glasses rather than small ones.
The Cambridge team carried out an experiment at 21 pubs and bars in England, asking them to sell only small and medium servings of wine for four weeks. It resulted in an 7.6 per cent drop in the overall amount of wine consumed. They called this a “promising intervention for decreasing alcohol consumption” that merits consideration as part of alcohol licensing regulations.
Larger 370 ml wine glasses in restaurants increased the volume of wine sold, and therefore consumed, compared to 300 ml glasses by approximately 7% In homes, smaller 290 ml wine glasses reduced the amount of wine drunk by around 6·5% compared with 350 ml glasses.
The study noted that the size of wine glasses has increased in recent years, almost doubling in the last thirty years. This likely contributing to an increase in wine consumption. “Regulating serving sizes in licensed premises could help shift social norms for what constitutes an appropriate serving size, both for consumption out of the home, such as in pubs and bars, and for consumption at homes where most drinking occurs.”
Reviewing the official cellars The Times Diary 17 January 2024
The advice of the tasting committee on the official cellar of the UK government ranges from “no hurry” on a 1955 Latour to “use with caution” on a 1961 Corton or the rather pessimistic “keep and hope” on a 1988 Margaux. Ports include an exceptional 1931 Quinta do Noval (“very special occasions only”) and a 1983 Dow (“use without anxiety”), while the advice on the 1878 cognac is “drink very sparingly”.
The Times’ diarist concludes: “Just as well Boris’s team took their booze suitcase to the Co-op rather than seeing what was on the shelves below Lancaster House.”
Reviewing the official cellar at Admiralty House was a pleasant task
The item reminded me of the occasion when my brother David joined his friend Edgar Riek lunching on the balcony at Admiralty House one glorious Sydney summer’s day to review the Australian Governor General’s cellar. David maintains the pair did not realise that the Château d’Yquem they opened to quality test was the last bottle in the collection.
Cheaper wine in Thailand Vino Joy News 9 January 2024
Tasting wine in Thailand is getting cheaper
Buying wines in Thailand is going to get much cheaper, as the country is set to introudce a sweeping tax reform including completely removing import tariffs in an effort to boost the country’s tourism. … According to the government spokesperson, import tariffs on wines, which currently stands at 54% and 60% of declared value, will be abolished indefinitely. Additionally, the excise tax on wine will also be lowered from 10% to 5% of its price. …
A perfect wife or a smaller bottle? 2 January 2024
Britain will soon have an answer to one of life’s difficult choices. Pint bottles of wine (568ml – the metric measure of an imperial pint) are about to be legal again.
Sir Claude Aurelius Elliott would be pleased. The former Cambridge don and Eton School headmaster once said the perfect wife enjoyed a glass of claret with dinner. He explained: “A half-bottle does not contain enough for a man, but a bottle is too much.”
Memories of a Long Ago Tasting – Richard Farmer 3 January 2024
David Armstrong, my long ago editor at The Bulletin, after noticing my recent piece on Yellow Tail, tweeted me asking “Do you remember when we did the blind tasting of the 20 most popular wines? I think everyone balked at the fake champagne.” To my reply that his memory was better than mine David prompted me with: “A story for The Bulletin: to rank the wines people drank (top 20 by sales) rather than talked about. You organised Tony Bilson and Peter Lehmann as the official tasters. We got down to someone’s asti spumante. Peter took a sip, spat it out and said: What is this shit?!!!”
The National Library’s Trove (long may it continue to exist) at least provided me with this article by brother David back in 1984:
The top selling wines of 1984
No mention of the tasting but at least proof that David and I have long had an understanding that the wine industry is far more than the fine wines that afficiandos rave about.
Move aside wine. Beer is now the measure of a French politician’s popularity. Paris based Ifop Opinion asks voters to judge the country’s potential leader by answering the question who would you most like to have a beer with. The Times notes that the beer question, devised in the US as a barometer for election candidates’ likeability, is increasingly relevant in France. Research suggests that beer is gradually replacing wine in French hearts and glasses.
The French favour beer over wine?
According to The Times: ‘Beer is a powerful social marker in France and many politicians use it to signal their closeness to working people. Gérald Darmanin, the interior minister, whose father ran a bar, often refers to his fondness for a “pinte” or a “demi”. He once complained of the absence of “people who drink beer and eat with their fingers” in Macron’s inner circle.’
The pressure in a 750 ml bottle of champagne or sparkling wine is about three times that of a standard car tyre, with the potential to launch a cork up to 13 m at speeds of up to 80 km/h. A cork can travel from bottle to eye in less than 0.05 seconds, making the blinking reflex ineffective. A cork hitting an eye can cause permanent blindness, retinal detachment, and lens dislocation, among other conditions. In May 2022 cyclist Biniam Girmay opened a bottle of prosecco on the winners’ podium to celebrate his win at the Giro d’Italia. The cork hit his eye causing an anterior chamber haemorrhage, and he had to withdraw from the next stage of the competition.
Cheers not tears: champagne corks and eye injury
We offer some suggestions to mitigate ophthalmic risks during toasts, in line with guidance from the American Academy of Ophthalmology.
1 Chill the bottle before opening. Pressure reduces as the bottle cools, and as a result cork velocity decreases. Avoid shaking the bottle before opening for the same reason.
2 Face the bottle away from others and yourself at a 45° angle before opening.
3 Remove the wire cage (which could act as an additional projectile) carefully from top of the bottle while pressing down on the cork with the palm of a hand
4 Place a towel over the top of the bottle and hold the cork firmly
5 Gently twist the bottle until the cork loosens
6 Counteract the upward moving force of the cork, by pressing down on it
Q. What are the primary challenges and hurdles wine journalism faces today?
A. Frankly, the biggest challenge is that so few wine-writing jobs pay well, much less a living wage. The travel necessary to write about wine intelligently is expensive, as is the wine itself. As a result, too many wine writers are subsidized by the wine industry, which poses a major conflict of interest for serious journalists. I don’t have a ready solution for this.
Counterfeiters are staying technologically ahead, such as by buying digital printers that enable them to counterfeit anti-fraud seals.
And they’re not just making DRC and Pétrus. In 2021, counterfeit bottles of Yellow Tail were found on sale in grocery stores in Birmingham, England.
When it’s warm, cool it – Giles Coren, The Times 29 August 2023
Waitrose has reported that sales of red wine are through the roof this summer because the fashion for chilling red wine has made it more popular in warm weather, with experts lining up to confirm that drinking cold red wine is ever so fashionable and new. But it isn’t.
The notion of drinking red wine at “room temperature” dates from a time when that room was in a draughty old castle in Burgundy and no warmer than 16C or 17C, which was the maximum temperature your wine eventually rose to after coming up from the 11C or 12C of your cellar. But as central heating caught on and the average room heat went up to a steamy 21C or 22C, that started being the temperature people believed they should drink red wine at, when it is actually far too warm. Even the great reds taste cheap and lazy, almost mulled, at that temperature.
Alcohol in wine – David Farmer 3 July 2023
What is the significance of the alcohol percentage in wine. Consider this. At the Decanter Wine Awards 2023 they judged 18249 wines and the highest pointing reds, the best of the best, averaged 14.5% alcohol. Now I rekon I have written more words about wine than any other writer though most has been advertising copy.
Want a good red? Make sure the alcohol is around 14.5% and should it be higher do not be concerned.
For 47 years I have told customers that if you want a tasty wine at a reasonable price make sure the alcohol is at least 14.5%. Why? Because you must have ripe grapes, full of flavour and sugar to create rich, full-bodied wines. The point. You cannot create a full flavoured taste from grapes
Recognition for the classic style Australian red – Richard Farmer 8 Jun 2023
The blending of Shiraz and Cabernet over the years has become a classic Australian red wine style. How delightful that the British based Decanter magazine has recognised the greatness of the syle. At its latest awards competition the Jacob’s Creek, Johann Shiraz-Cabernet, Barossa Valley, South Australia, Australia, 2013 was made a Best in Show
The New York Times wine writer was asked “what do you often hear from your readers?”
I get emails from people seeking advice, like, “I inherited this wine from my mother 30 years ago, when should I open it?” Those are very difficult questions to answer because one of the things I like to preach about wine is that nobody is omniscient — not even critics. There are random factors involved in wine, and when to open a bottle is one of them.
“This week, the civil court in Bordeaux ordered Stéphane and Jérôme Coureau to pay €1.18 million to Petrus for harming its reputation with their cheap imitation. It included €500,000 in damages and €680,000 to cover the Coureau brothers’ profits from the venture.
The dispute began a decade ago when the brothers, who own vineyards in Blaye, which is much less prestigious than Pomerol, launched Petrus Lambertini Major Burdegalensis 1208. The label, which has two keys, spoke of history. Petrus Lambertini was the mayor of Bordeaux who refused to hand the keys to the city to the King of Castille in 1208.
Wasting a good Diet Coke – The Times 17 May 2023
Appearing on the latest episode of The Adam Buxton Podcast to promote his new novel, The Making of Another Major Motion Picture Masterpiece, Hanks revealed his favourite tipple, a cocktail he proudly invented called: Diet Cokagne — pronounced the class A way.
A diet Cokeagne
“I’m not a big drinker,” he told Buxton. “But of late I will have a Diet Coke with a shot of champagne. We call it a Diet Cokagne around the house.”
No wine for fast food – 6 May 2023
At the restaurant outside Gare du Nord, Paris these days, the habits have changed. No steak frites with a glass of wine. These days it is Popeyes from Louisiana, USA, serving fried chicken and coke.
Fried chicken at Gare du Nord in Paris
A perfect illustration of why wine consumption in France has plummeted.
Fit for pseuds corner – QWine Review 3 May 2023.
Does this tasting note help you know what the wine reviewed actually tastes like?
“Littered with Campari, red licorice, pomegranate, red petals, a tease of blackcurrant and handfuls of red cherries sing. Red apples run riot ensuring the smash factor is high. The aromatic prettiness keeps the tempo upbeat.”
A fitting first entry into the Diary’s wine pseuds corner.* Future contributions welcome.
*Private Eyes Pseuds Corner described on Wikipedia: Listing pretentious, pseudo-intellectual quotations from the media. At various times different columnists have been frequent entrants, with varied reactions. In the 1970s, Pamela Vandyke Price, a Sunday Times wine columnist, wrote to the magazine complaining that “every time I describe a wine as anything other than red or white, dry or wet, I wind up in Pseud’s Corner“.
The way things were – From AAWE 26 April 2023
French wine poster (above) from 1934: “Le vin rend fort – buvons du vin” (wine makes you strong, lets drink wine)
Champagne’s Crushing Revenge On Miller High Life – Comité de Champagne 24 April 2023
Protected designation of origin : destruction of beer cans abusively bearing the designation champagne on Miller
On April 17, 2023, the Comité Champagne and the General Administration of Belgian Customs destroyed a shipment of 2,352 cans of American beer with the inscription “The Champagne of Beers”.
These products, destined for Germany, were intercepted in the port of Antwerp in early February. They represent an infringement of the protected designation of origin CHAMPAGNE.
Following this seizure by the Belgian customs, the Comité Champagne – the interprofessional body grouping the Champagne houses and growers, charged with the protection of the Champagne designation throughout the world – requested the destruction of these illicit goods. The consignee of the cans in Germany was informed and did not contest the decision.
Campagne’s revenge – the great beer crushing
The destruction was carried out by Westlandia company in Ypres (Belgium) on April 17 with the utmost respect for environmental concerns by ensuring that the entire batch, both contents and container, was recycled in an environmentally responsible manner.
Initially, the Customs detention was carried out on the basis of European regulations, which stipulate that goods that infringe a protected designation of origin in the Member State where they are located are counterfeit goods.
Secondly, the Comité Champagne confirmed to Customs the illicit nature of the goods on the basis of the infringement of the designation of origin mentioned by European Regulation 1308/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of December 17, 2013 on the common organization of the markets for agricultural products.
Hey French: You Could Have Made This But You Didn’t – The Drinks Business 21 April 2023
Ten years after Pasqua Vigneti e Cantine embarked on its innovative multi-vintage white wine project, Hey French: You Could Have Made This But You Didn’t, the third edition has The Drinks Business asking if “it is time to reassess our devotion to single vintage wines.” Its reviewer commented that after tasting the single vintages that made up the first edition of Hey French individually – the goal being to assess the contribution each vintage was going to give to the final blend – I ended up with a very different idea – the result isn’t just the sum of the individual parts, but much greater.
Fountains Gushing With Young Wine – The Guardian 18 April 2023
We were born too late. “Excavation shows facility included luxurious dining rooms with views of fountains that gushed with wine … the story of the villa, whose origins lie in the second century AD, has just become even more remarkable, with the discovery of an elaborate winery unparalleled in the Roman world for lavishness.” See more at Sacrifice a Lamb Then Pick the Grapes
Memories of a Long Ago Tasting – Richard Farmer 10 April 2023
David Armstrong, my long ago editor at The Bulletin, after noticing my recent piece on Yellow Tail, tweeted me asking “Do you remember when we did the blind tasting of the 20 most popular wines? I think everyone balked at the fake champagne.” To my reply that his memory was better than mine David prompted me with: “A story for The Bulletin: to rank the wines people drank (top 20 by sales) rather than talked about. You organised Tony Bilson and Peter Lehmann as the official tasters. We got down to someone’s asti spumante. Peter took a sip, spat it out and said: What is this shit?!!!”
The National Library’s Trove (long may it continue to exist) at least provided me with this article by brother David back in a984:
The top selling wines of 1984
No mention of the tasting but at least proof that David and I have long had an understanding that the wine industry is far more than the fine wines that afficiandos rave about.
The Ice Age and the Evolution of Wine – from Haaretz 9 April 2023
“And wine that maketh glad the heart of man” – Psalms 104:15
Answers to some interesting questions: Why did science get so confused over the origin of the grape? Did we really grow and nurture vines before anything else, and why do we drink toxic beverages anyway?…
“Wine has become so ingrained in culture that consumption of four glasses of the stuff has become de rigueur on Passover, but we can’t all tolerate alcohol equally. Why would a substance that makes us sick be so cherished?
A shrew, a fruit bat and a rabbi walk into a bar –
“And they have cast lots for my people; and have given a boy for an harlot, and sold a girl for wine, and have drunk” – Joel 4:3
Nasty stuff, wine. Why was it invented anyway? Alcohol is repulsive.
The answer seems to be that mammals like having their minds altered. Many indulge in fermenting fruit to the point of staggering inebriation, including elephants who turn out to have very low tolerance for alcohol. Captive macaques will get stinking drunk if given the chance. Birds will get so smashed on fermenting berries they fall out of the sky and herbivores in general, including the moose, can’t handle their liquor.”
Chile uproots 4.5% of its vineyards 7 April 2023
Chile’s national Agricultural and Livestock Service reports , commentedland under vine is down by just over 6,080 hectares, a 4.5% decline from 2020 to 2021. Eduardo Jordan, head winemaker for Fairtrade-producer Miguel Torres Chile, commented that “the problem is that the small producers are often getting paid a price which isn’t even moral… paying 85 pesos a kilo [16 Australian cents per kilo] is abuse!”
The story of the fall and rise of board games is interesting if we think about it in terms of similar patterns in the wine industry. Board games (and wine) suffered four big blows in recent years. First came in the form of demographic and socio-economic change. Generations shifted — the players got both older (aging Boomers) and younger (Gen X, Gen Z), too. The faces around the table were different and the opportunities to gather together were different…
The situation for board games looked particularly bad because, if you’ve followed the story so far, you can see that a whole generation has grown up in a different game environment than before. It was hard to believe that board games could ever stage a come back. Game over for them. But they did it! Board games are back! How?
A recent Washington Post article by Jacvlyn Peiser suggests that the board game renaissance is a combination of old and new. … But it’s the classic appeal that is the foundation of the innovative surge. The Washington Post article concludes with a comment that board games endure because they get friends and family together to share experiences and make memories. What could be better?
Well, of course, board games are better with wine (for those of legal drinking age). Wine and social gatherings are perfect parings. There are even board games for wine enthusiasts. Did you know that there is now a special Napa Valley Monopoly edition? …
It seems to me that the wine industry, following the board game analogy, needs to continue to innovate, to reach out to consumers with different interests and lower specific levels of commitment than before. But in doing that, it is important not to forget the values and virtues that have made wine an enduring part of life.
It is reported that Bernard Arnault, the head of LVMH and the current holder of the “World’s Richest Man” title, once met with Steve Jobs, the visionary creator of the Apple electronics phenomenon. Do you think people will still be buying your iPhones in 30 years, Arnault asked Jobs. Don’t know, Jobs said honestly.
Do you think people will will still drink your Dom Perignon Champagne in 30 years, Jobs asked in reply? Yes, Arnault said confidently. The wine will endure. There will be Dom Perignon for generations. Jobs agreed. So do I.
This is not an April Fool’s Day Joke – from The Times 1 April 2023
As waning tradition sends vineyards to the wall, breweries are cashing in by pairing their bottles with blue cheese and crème brûlée… The enthusiasm is widespread, with research published this week suggesting that beer is replacing wine in the hearts and glasses of a growing number of French people. The survey by Circana, the market researchers, noted a “historic shift”, with beer on the point of outselling wine in supermarkets. “We forecast that in 2023, revenue from beer will overtake that of still wine for the first time,” Circana said.
When wines move into the investment column 31 March 2023
When wines move out of the drinking area, into the “investment” column time to walk away. A bit like diamonds though, what they are “valued” at doesn’t bear any resemblance to what you can sell them for. How much Grange or Hill of G is actually drunk, vs onsold over and over?
My guess in anwer is “probably less and less is actually drunk as the price gets higher and higher.”
A little bit of fun and nonsense: what’s your vinotype? Richard Farmer 30 March 2023
Master of Wine Tim Hanni developed a test of personality traits and food preferences to determine how different wines taste to different people or, in his language, your vinotype. Being a sucker for an internet survey I gave it a go and found I am “smack-dab in the center of the sensory sensitivity spectrum”. Flexible, adaptable, adventurous and a champion of ‘context’ for finding just the ‘right’ wine, with wine preferences running a gamut from delicate to full-bodied, dry white wines to a wide range of reds, especially favoring those that are very rich, smooth but not too oaky or tannic. A bit of fun and nonsense but that verdict is one I’m prepared to accept.
Where’s our Libby? – Richard Farmer 22 March 2023
The United States wine industry is suffering, like most of those around the world, from a significant drop in consumption by young drinkers. The decline is more than just a turn against all alcohol but largely a switch towards spirits with fruit flavours and bubbles. Grant Hemingway, co-founder of the low- alcohol wine brand Libby summed up the problem this way: “We in the wine industry just sat idle and watched hard seltzer eat our lunch.”
Hemingway is doing something about it and his Libby brand of bubbles (not, please note, sparkling) is one of many leading a fightback with a reduced alcohol product.
Another Embarrassment – Australia trounced by New Zealand – 20 March 2023
No. It’s not just in the Bledisloe Cup.
The New Zealand government estimates annual wine exports will reach just over NZD2.4bn by June 2023. With Australian exports static or declining, the 2021-2022 end June figure was $2.08bn, and allowing for a 10% difference in exchange rates, means New Zealand has likely passed Australia.
The Kiwis are winning
The 42,000 hectares of New Zealand vines beats the 146,000 hectares of Australian vines.
Australian exports have not moved since 2008 and there is no point blaming China which came and went quickly.
Something is terribly wrong. Is anyone in charge down at Wine Australia?
Footnote: We are doing out best to stop the NZ flow with the Borderland Estate ‘Flocking Galloots’ South Australia Sauvignon Blanc 2022. Good acid fruit balance, soft, a delight to drink with no back palate phenolics from the skins or pips and comes in at an agreeable 10.5% alc/vol. Perfect to drink at any time.
Let them keep their Marlborough. The Flocking Galootts is a steal at just $8.60 a bottle.
King Charles III is Off to Bordeaux – 20 March 2023
Not really a surprise that Charles III has chosen to visit Bordeaux during his first royal tour. As The Times says in an editorial “arguably, if it hadn’t been for the acute thirst of the Plantagenets and their successors, the Margaux, Médocs, Saint-Émilions, Latours and Mouton Rothschilds that have dominated royal banquets for the past 500 years (including the Petrus served at the late Queen’s wedding) might never have arrived in such quantities. Eleanor of Aquitaine brought Henry II an inestimable dowry.”
Nor a surprise that the Chateau chosen for this latest royal patronage is Smith Haut Lafitte. The vineyard with its horse-drawn ploughs, llama grass-cutters, organic compost, carbon dioxide recycling and flirtation with a version of biodynamics should appeal to a monarch oft described as “the green king”.
Perhaps he should be sent a copy of the paper mentioned in the item below lest he makes a complete fool of himself with some kind of complete endorsement of this eccentric Chateau.
Fruit days and root days 19 March 2023 – Richard Farmer
Journal srticle on biodynamics demolishes the biodynamic claims about fruit days and root days.
What a group of New Zealand academics published demolishes a claim of biodynamics believers that fruit days as determined by the lunar calendar are better for tasting wine than root days. The research project concluded that “there is no evidence in support of the notion that how a wine tastes is associated with the lunar cycle”.
Global warming helps – 17 March 2023
Warmer temperatures making better wine
The price of Beaujolais is on the rise and producers say global warming has helped their move upmarket, with their gamay grape variety benefiting from hotter conditions. Philippe Bardet, the deputy chairman of Inter Beaujolais, the local winemakers’ federation, told Le Parisien: “The grapes are riper thanks to the sun and give red wines that are fleshier, tempting [and] silky with rounder and more mature tannins. You can say that global warming has done us a lot of good.”
My favorite wine producers look inward, not outward. They ask themselves, “How can I do my utmost to convey the character of this particular patch of earth?” And they often conclude: “I’m going to make the wines that I like to drink. If nobody buys them, I’ll drink them myself.” …
You’d be right to think that this doesn’t make much business sense. Successful corporations rely on focus groups and surveys to determine what the public likes and loathes. Their products fit their perception of what will sell, which in the world of wine often results in imitation rather than originality. …
These sorts of wines can, nonetheless, be delicious. Plenty of people will love them and find them satisfying. But a delicious wine is not necessarily the same thing as an original wine. Original wines that are delicious, too, are best of all.
New York Times wine writer Eric Asimov
The most distinctive wines tend to be made by small, family-run producers. They do need to sustain their businesses, but they do not answer to outside forces motivated primarily by sales and profits, or to critics’ notions of what is proper and desirable. They are free to define their own aesthetic standards.
Let yourself go a little – 15 March 2023 – from The Times diary
While researching her book 101 Wines to Try Before You Die, the grape enthusiast Margaret Rand interviewed an American appeal court judge and asked what prisoners on death row requested for their last meal. “He said it was invariably pizza or a Big Mac and fries,” she says, “and most insist on having a Diet Coke. I’d have thought at that stage you could let yourself go a little.”
No biodynamic research at the AWRI – 14 March 2023
Pleased to report that the Australian Wine Research Institute replied to a query by me this morning that it had not conducted any research into biodynamics in vineyards. Perhaps the Institute should explain to Wine Australia that real scientists do not go in for the nonsense featured on its website.
Spare a thought for these winemakers 13 March 2023 from Al Jazeera
Since Russia invaded Ukraine, the traditional wine-making regions in the south and east of the country have found themselves on the front lines, with many wineries, such as Château Kurin near Kherson, a port city in southern Ukraine, falling into Russian hands. Others have been damaged by missile attacks, such as the Cassia family winery near Kyiv. The country’s largest bottle producer, Vetropack Gostomel in Kyiv, was also heavily damaged in February 2022. However, despite the dangers of war, many winemakers have continued to operate, ensuring that the nascent Ukrainian wine industry, buoyed by growing demand, has continued to flourish. Wine lovers, in turn, spurred on by patriotism and sommeliers’ recommendations, are ditching foreign wines and opting for local producers.
The art of blending – 10 March 2023 Fiona Beckett in The Guardian
‘A winemaker can combine different components to make a harmonious whole. And if it’s a bad year for one variety, say, you can simply bump up another.’
Port in a Storm – 7 March 2023 From Patrick Kidd in The Times diary
Having failed, as ever, to give up anything for Lent, I admire those with discipline. So does the drinks writer Henry Jeffreys, who tells The Moon Under Water that a role model is William Wilberforce, who, after a religious moment, set out to abolish more than slavery. “He decided he had to leave behind his dissolute life and stop gambling and drinking,” Jeffreys says. “So he cut down to only six glasses of port a day.”
Winestate Magazine Comes to an End – 5 March 2023
The first issue of Winestate – May 1978
The last issue of Winestate March 2023
The end of an era of writing about the Australian wine industry comes with the final edition of Winestate magazine being on the news stands this month. As the editor said in a final note to readers: “Since 1978 Winestate has become somewhat of a wine institution, catering to both trade and consumer alike. We greatly enjoyed being a wine buying guide, collaborating with winemaker judges around Australia and New Zealand. We learnt a lot and we like to think that we gave a lot in return, giving winemakers an overview of the wines made by themselves and their peers.”
Attracting younger drinkers to wine – 5 March 2023
Several learned wine industry reports recently on the lack of attempts to stop the decline drinking by younger people. At least Treasury Wine Estates makes an attempt with its 19 Crimes brand promoted quite successfully by Snoop Dogg. The man himself dropped into Treasury’s Melbourne headquarters to meet his paymasters.
Will wine be next? 25 February 2023
A German brewery has developed what it claims to be the world’s first powdered beer. Stefan Fritsche, the brewery’s managing director, said Neuzeller’s “dryest beer”, differs from other powdered beers brought to market in recent years in that it contains alcohol and is carbonated.
Add water to the powder and you have sparkling beer to put in a bottle.
“Add water and you’ll get a beer with the complete beer taste including alcohol and carbon dioxide and a head of foam. In principle we can produce any beer in the world using the method — dark beer, light beer, India pale ale, whatever.”
The evolution of the French view of wine – 23 February 2023 Marie Mascré, Founder of “Sowine”
The French wine marketing consultant describes it thus: There has been a fairly constant decrease in wine consumption since the 1960s. We have gone from 130L consumed per inhabitant in 1960 , to 55L in 2000 and 36L in 2018. So we really decreased . The fall is explained by the evolution of our view of wine: “Until the 1960s, wine was a food product. Today, it is a pleasure product.”
Some London Competition Winners – 20 February 2023
Having noted elsewhere the success of Shiraz from Penfolds at the Global Shiraz Masters in London Ithought it appropriate to note these other Barossa wines that achieved the highest gong of being designated Master shiraz.
That Time Magazine Dozen – David Farmer 19 February 2023
I have finally found details of that Time magazine article saying that a Tyrells Pinot was one of the world’s best wines. (See the Glug story here.)
Time magazine’s list of the world’s 12 best wines that includes a Tyrells Pinot
That question of temperature – A Twitter from a reader – 19 February 2023
1976 was actually the coolest year in the Hunter Valley for the last 70 years. We might be waiting a while for the next decent drop. pic.twitter.com/FintPEwN0G
I suspect that Lester has a very good idea what the answer would be. He is a dedicated and long practising taster of, and writer about, wine. His Wine Wise magazine gives an interesting perspective on all things vinous.
A literal type of fellow – Richard Farmer 17 February 2023
It’s probably the grounding I received as a young journalist at Tasmanian Truth. I tend to use words in the same sense as the dictionary. Hence a teetotaller to me is “one who practices or advocates teetotalism” with teetolalism being “the principle or practice of complete abstinence from alcoholic drinks.” I detect nothing derogatory in that definition but many followers of my Twitter and Facebook accounts clearly have.
Investigating the origins of teetollaller
So I determined as an act of self defence that further examination into this T-total business was needed. Merriam Webster says the word has nothing to do with tea the drink. More likely the “tee” that begins the word teetotal is a reduplication of the letter “t” that begins total, emphasizing that one has pledged total abstinence. In the early 1800s, tee-total and tee-totally were used to intensify total and totally, much the way we now might say, “I’m tired with a capital T.” “I am now … wholly, solely, and teetotally absorbed in Wayne’s business,” wrote the folklorist Parson Weems in an 1807 letter. Teetotal and teetotaler first appeared with their current meanings in 1834, eight years after the formation of the American Temperance Society.
“To understand the connection to alcohol, we have to go back to 1830s Britain, when the Total Abstinence Society formed. The members of this group had chosen not to drink alcohol. The Oxford English Dictionary cites the first use of “teetotaler” in 1833, not long after the society was established. A man named Richard “Dicky” Turner gets credit for the first use.
In fact, “teetotaler” came to be known as “Dicky Turner’s word.” In 1833, he gave a speech advocating total abstinence from all alcohol, as opposed to abstinence only to “ardent spirits” such as brandy or whiskey. That is, teetotal abstinence.
Even Turner’s tombstone credits him with first use of the term in this manner. It says, “Beneath this stone are deposited the remains of Richard Turner, author of the word ‘teetotal’ as applied to abstinence from all intoxicating liquors.”
Did you notice how the inscription specifies how Turner used “teetotal”? Evidence suggests that “teetotally” was a slangy expression before Turner used it. He just applied it in the context of alcohol.
We’d like to see “teetotally” make a comeback. Maybe #teetotally could become a thing? Let us know if you’ve got better ideas.“
I rest my case.
Does the % alcohol content on a wine label really mean anything? – Richard Farmer 17 February 2023
The label says 14.3% Alc./Vol. It looks precise and definite but it isn’t. The truth for an Australian wine is that the actual alcohol by volume measure could be as low as 12.8% or as high as 18.8%.
What is on the label is often times misleading. In this day and age where some consumers think that lower alcohol means better there is a temptation for a wine company to err on the lower side when deciding what figure to use.
Alcohol by volume statement on a wine label
There’s nothing illegal about that. Wine Australia, which administers labeling laws, says the alcohol content statement must be accurate to within 1.5% alc/vol for wine, sparkling wine and wine products containing more than 6.5% alc/vol.
Preparing for a New Goat Square – Brad Rohrlach 13 February 2023
Goat Square Cabernet
Look out for this wine in the coming days. An old favourite now made for the Cabernet lovers out there.
We are getting it ready for release in the vineyard now.
Goat Square is our homage to the origins of the Barossa Valley.
The Square still has some of the original cottages that surrounded the initial meeting and marketing place outside the then village of Tanunda.
We call it our flagship brand.
The first Goat Square release was a 2003 Shiraz. Cabernet Sauvignon followed with the 2004 vintage
There’s a full list of all the Goat Square releases HERE.
Restaurant Wine Prices – David Farmer 15 February 2023
John Lethlean writes about restaurant food for The Australian, and a few days back listed his seven big gripes. Number six focussed on wine ‘… Spending ridiculous amounts on readily available, highly marked-up wines with virtually no value-adding in terms of cellaring, presentation and stemware’.
So have we returned to the main complaint of the 1990s. Why are restaurant wines overpriced? To avoid comparison restaurants stock obscure boutiques so what is the standard price. It seems there is nothing we diner can do, together we are trapped.
This is a tough question. Prices are so arbitrary relative to wine quality. Most wine I buy is below $20.00. There are many very good drops, and occasionally one stumbles on an excellent white below $10.00. On the other hand, truly superb drops generally cost more than $25.00, but my peasant up-bringing balks. And there are many very ordinary wines above $30.00. The risk/reward equation above $20.00 is not good. Anyone who spends $1,000 on a bottle of Grange is a fool.
A 2023 Vintage Update – by Brad Rohrlach 13 February 2023
Well, it’s that time of the year again with vintage nearly upon us, and things are slowly taking shape in the Barossa Valley Vineyards. It’s been a long cool summer so far, meaning ripening is slow with most saying we are 4 weeks behind normal picking times.
Currently, Shiraz, Cabernet and other red varieties are going through Veraison, which is the process of the colouring of the grape.
Red varieties are going through Veraison – the process of the colouring of the grape.
Growers have had their hands full too with the damp conditions, with a constant requirement of spraying to reduce the chances of disease growing in the vines.
Having said that, most are saying the quality will be there again this year, as always with the Barossa Valley Vineyards.
A thank you to Hugh Johnson – by David Farmer 12 February 2023
What do you need to know about wine? Beneath the big picture sits wine with the other interests to living well. Bread and wine became food and wine which both have the characteristic that the pleasure grows as you know more.
Writers appeared as guides. Now another problem rises as who are these teacher? This is a pet gripe of mine as many writing about wine do so because they can. Getting qualifications like a Master of Wine or a Master Sommelier is a start yet what I want is a writer with vast, worldly experience. Most do not have this.
A story will help. I read ‘Wine’ Hugh Johnson (1966) shortly after it was published. A trip to Spain-France in 1967 started the exploration of wine. Being well paid I could try the special wines I read about, and my interest grew. Wine seemed to be about places which made the best wines. A 1969 trip to France was when the insight really dropped. Wine was also about a quality to price ratio.
The first 1966 edition of Hugh Johnson’s first book “Wine”. David still regrets that the person he leant his original copy did not return it.
The very best wines, the famous names on the wine lists, were only a few times dearer than the good and honest.
So, this is what wine is about, read a bit, remember the names, then buy the best.
The wines I had thought were reserved for the wealthy could be purchased by the middle class.
At this time the smart crowd noted that Christies (London) auction prices had moved higher than French restaurant prices. So the 1970s into the early 1980s was the time of plunder.
I was there, sorry you missed out, yet the insight remains, what you ask your wine writer to tell you has not altered. What is the best way to spend your money.
Lindemans prepares to join the scrap heap of Australian wine brands in the name of "premiumisation".
How the mighty have fallen as Lindemans prepares to join the scrap heap of Australian wine brands in the name of “premiumisation”.
This once proud pioneer of the country’s wine industry was delivered its death notice at a briefing last month for analysts and investors by Treasury Wine Estates chief executive Tim Ford. As reported in The Australian Mr Ford underlined the winemaker’s view that long-term trends for the wine industry would be driven by the continued growth in luxury and premium wine sales.
‘This ‘premiumisation’ of the wine market had helped reinforce the need for Treasury Wine Estates to push further into the higher priced end of the market – particularly the US which is the largest luxury wine market in the world…….This could result in Treasury Wine Estates unshackling itself from its Premium Brands division which typically holds its cheaper or more affordable wine brands such as 19 Crimes, Squealing Pig, Lindeman’s and Rawson’s Retreat’.
So Lindeman’s, the revered wine business established back in 1843, is tossed on the dump with those appalling brands, 19 Crimes, featuring Snoop Dogg, and Squealing Pig, which used the tag line, ‘this little piggy went to market’.
Soon it will be Bye, Bye altogether to those famous Coonawarra reds like Lindemans ‘Limestone Ridge’ Shiraz Cabernet and Lindemans ‘Pyrus’ Cabernet blend that 30 years ago occupied an esteemed place in the 1966 Langton’s Classification of Australian Wine. Already they are gone from the current edition.
The Lindemans pair are not alone in falling from favour.
All the drop outs from the 1966 Langton’s Classification
These two once carried the Langton’s Outstanding (B) classification:
Petaluma ‘Coonawarra’ Cabernet Merlot
Petaluma Chardonnay — Adelaide Hills
Alas, they no longer get a gong
The list of the disappearances from the Langton’s Excellent classification of 1966 is longer:
Bannockburn Chardonnay — Geelong
Bannockburn Pinot Noir — Geelong
Bowen Estate Cabernet Sauvignon — Coonawarra
Dalwhinnie Cabernet Sauvignon — Pyrenees
Dalwhinnie Shiraz — Pyrenees
Grosset ‘Springvale’ Riesling — Clare Valley
Hardy’s Vintage Port — McLaren Vale
Jasper Hill ‘Emily’s Paddock’ Shiraz Cabernet Franc — Heathcote
Jasper Hill ‘Georgia’s Paddock’ Shiraz — Heathcote
Where have young wine drinkers gone? In the United States it is to marijuana and Australia is probably no different.
The Wall Street Journal reported recently that for the first time, the U.S. has more daily cannabis users than alcohol users.
Younger people have moved away from alcohol over health concerns.
And now the alcohol industry is confronted by an effort to have government guidelines on consumption tightened again.
For nearly three decades, the WSJ reported, federal dietary guidelines have said it is safe for men to have two or fewer drinks a day, and for women to have one. That could change next year when the Agriculture and Health and Human Services departments update recommendations that are part of federal dietary guidelines.
“For the first time, the guidance on alcohol consumption is being considered separately from the dietary guidelines. That has set off a struggle to set the new rules of the game. Government agencies, the alcohol industry and its allies on Capitol Hill have clashed over how much information about the process should be released and who should shape the final recommendations.”
Lobbyists for the alcohol industry worry that guiding Americans to drink less would be a blow to an industry that is already losing some customers.
In December 2020, Australia’s National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) released revised Australian guidelines to reduce health risks from drinking alcohol.
It recommended that healthy men and women should drink no more than 10 standard drinks a week and no more than 4 standard drinks on any one day. Children and people under 18 years of age should not drink alcohol.
In April this year the government’s Australian Institute of Health and Welfare reported that daily cannabis use in this country increased from 14% in 2019 to 18% in 2022–2023.
Perhaps that answers the question “Where have young wine drinkers gone?”
DISCLAIMER: It is an offence to sell or supply liquor to a person under the age of 18 years, or to obtain liquor on behalf of a person under the age of 18 years. Under the Liquor Control Reform Act 1998 it is an offence to supply alcohol to a person under the age of 18 years (penalty exceeds $23,000) and for a person under the age of 18 years to purchase or receive liquor (penalty exceeds $900).
So you think you can trust wine judges. A look at the table below and the erratic performance of judges at wine shows might change your mind.
We list all the 2021 Shiraz wines that won a gold medal at a capital city wine show last year.
Note the wines that won gold at one show and did not even get a bronze at another one. It’s got to make you wonder at the point of it all. Which verdict should be believed.
And spare a thought for Jim Barry Wines. They won more golds than any other producer but in Melbourne the best these multi-golds only managed was bronzes. Madness.
And if you want the list to help you find real value then note the De Borttoli Windy Peak Shiraz 2021 which wone Gold at the National Wine Show in Canberra. $11.99 a bottle at Dan Murphy’s when I looked.
Winery
Wine
Score
Medal
Show
ALDI Stores
Blackstone Paddock Shiraz 2021
95
Gold
Adelaide
$17.99 Aldi
Blackstone Paddock Shiraz 2021
84
Sydney
Bleasdale Vineyards
Bleasdale Bremerview Shiraz 2021
95
Gold
Canberra
$22
Bleasdale Bremerview Shiraz 2021
90
Silver
Brisbane
Bleasdale Bremerview Shiraz 2021
93
Siver
Sydney
Brokenwood Wines
Rayner Vineyard Shiraz 2021
95
Gold
Adelaide
$43.99 DM
Casella Family Brands
Peter Lehmann Portrait Shiraz 2021
95
Gold
Melbourne
$16.99 DM
Peter Lehmann Portrait Shiraz 2021
91
Silver
Sydney
Peter Lehmann Portrait Shiraz 2021
90
Silver
Brisbane
Peter Lehmann Portrait Shiraz 2021
88
Bronze
National
Peter Lehmann Portrait Shiraz 2021
87
Bronze
Adelaide
Casella Family Brands
Peter Lehmann The Barossan Shiraz 2021
Gold
Perth
$22.99 DM
Peter Lehmann The Barossan Shiraz 2021
90
Silver
Melbourne
Peter Lehmann The Barossan Shiraz 2021
88
Bronze
Adelaide
Peter Lehmann The Barossan Shiraz 2021
85
Bronze
Brisbane
Cherubino
Pedestal Margaret River Shiraz 2021
96
Gold
Sydney
$27.99 DM
Pedestal Margaret River Shiraz 2021
95
Gold
Melbourne
Pedestal Margaret River Shiraz 2021
90
Silver
National
Pedestal Margaret River Shiraz 2021
90
Silver
Adelaide
Pedestal Margaret River Shiraz 2021
Bronze
Perth
De Bortoli Wines
DBWS Shiraz 2021
95
Gold
Brisbane
DBWS Shiraz 2021
91
Silver
Sydney
DBWS Shiraz 2021
90
Silver
Adelaide
DBWS Shiraz 2021
90
Silver
Melbourne
DBWS Shiraz 2021
Bronze
Perth
De Bortoli Wines
Windy Peak Shiraz 2021
95
Gold
National
$11.99 DM
De Bortoli Wines
Yarra Valley Single Vineyard A8 Syrah 2021
95
Gold
National
$54.95 CD
Yarra Valley Single Vineyard A8 Syrah, 2021
<85
Melbourne
Devil’s Cave Vineyard
Devils Cave Vineyard Shiraz 2021
95
Gold
Sydney
$35.99
Devils Cave Vineyard Shiraz 2021
93
Silver
Brisbane
Devils Cave Vineyard Shiraz 2021
88
Bronze
National
Devils Cave Vineyard Shiraz 2021
86
Bronze
Adelaide
Devils Cave Vineyard Shiraz 2021
<85
Melbourne
Dural Wines
Australia Saint & Scholar Graduates Shiraz 2021
95
Gold
Brisbane
$17.49 DM
Gala Estate Vineyard
Black label ‘emerald’ Syrah 2021
95
Gold
Brisbane
$70 GEV
Halls Gap Wine Co
Fallen Giants Black Range Vineyard Shiraz 2021
96
Gold
Melbourne
$22.49 DM
Jim Barry Wines
Barry and Sons Shiraz 2021
95
Gold
Brisbane
Barry and Sons Shiraz 2021
95
Gold
Adelaide
Barry and Sons Shiraz 2021
88
Bronze
Melbourne
Jim Barry Wines
Jim Barry Expressions Shiraz 2021
95
Gold
Brisbane
Jim Barry Expressions Shiraz 2021
95
Gold
Adelaide
Jim Barry Expressions Shiraz 2021
95
Gold
Sydney
Jim Barry Expressions Shiraz 2021
Silver
Perth
Jim Barry Expressions Shiraz 2021
85
Bronze
Melbourne
Jim Barry Wines
Jim Barry Lodge Hill Shiraz 2021
96
Gold
Adelaide
$24.90 DM
Jim Barry Lodge Hill Shiraz 2021
95
Gold
National
Jim Barry Lodge Hill Shiraz 2021
95
Gold
Sydney
Jim Barry Lodge Hill Shiraz 2021
Gold
Perth
Jim Barry Lodge Hill Shiraz 2021
90
Silver
Brisbane
Jim Barry Lodge Hill Shiraz 2021
88
Bronze
Melbourne
Jim Barry Wines
Jim Barry The Forger 2021
95
Gold
Adelaide
$29 DM
Jim Barry The Forger 2021
Silver
Perth
Jim Barry The Forger 2021
85
Bronze
Melbourne
Kirrihill Wines
Regional Series Clare Shiraz 2021
95
Gold
National
$16.99 DM
Regional Series Clare Shiraz 2021
89
Bronze
Brisbane
Regional Series Clare Shiraz 2021
86
Bronze
Sydney
Lake Breeze Wines
Bull Ant Shiraz 2021
95
Gold
Brisbane
$13.99
Bull Ant Shiraz 2021
85
Bronze
Adelaide
Bull Ant Shiraz 2021
85
Bronze
Melbourne
Bull Ant Shiraz 2021
84
Sydney
Longview Vineyard
Macclesfield Syrah 2021
95
Gold
Sydney
$45 CD
Macclesfield Syrah 2021
91
Silver
Brisbane
Macclesfield Syrah 2021
90
Silver
Adelaide
Macclesfield Syrah 2021
88
Bronze
National
Macclesfield Syrah 2021
Bronze
Perth
McPherson Wines
Don’t tell Gary Shiraz 2021
95
Gold
Brisbane
$24 CD
Don’t tell Gary Shiraz 2021
95
Gold
Melbourne
Don’t tell Gary Shiraz 2021
Gold
Perth
Don’t tell Gary Shiraz 2021
88
Bronze
Adelaide
Nugan Estate
Nugan Estate McLaren Parish Shiraz 2021
95
Gold
Brisbane
$29 CD
Nugan Estate McLaren Parish Shiraz 2021
95
Gold
Melbourne
Nugan Estate McLaren Parish Shiraz 2021
95
Gold
Sydney
Nugan Estate McLaren Parish Shiraz 2021
88
Bronze
Adelaide
Nugan Estate McLaren Parish Shiraz 2021
Bronze
Perth
Orlando Wines
Orlando Centenary Hill Shiraz 2021
95
Gold
Brisbane
$74.99 DM
Orlando Centenary Hill Shiraz 2021
91
Silver
Melbourne
Pannell Enoteca
S.C.Pannell Merrivale Shiraz 2021
95
Gold
Melbourne
$37.60
Paulett Wines
Pauletts Clare Valley Shiraz 2021
95
Gold
Melbourne
$20.99 DM
Pauletts Clare Valley Shiraz 2021
88
Bronze
Adelaide
Pauletts Clare Valley Shiraz 2021
84
Sydney
Petaluma Wines
Petaluma B & V Adelaide Hills Shiraz 2021
95
Gold
Adelaide
$45.99 DM
Petaluma B & V Adelaide Hills Shiraz 2021
88
Bronze
Sydney
Pinnacle Drinks
Bare Bones Great Western Shiraz 2021
95
Gold
Adelaide
$14.99 DM
Bare Bones Great Western Shiraz 2021
90
Silver
Melbourne
Bare Bones Great Western Shiraz 2021
Silver
Perth
Bare Bones Great Western Shiraz 2021
89
Bronze
Brisbane
Bare Bones Great Western Shiraz 2021
88
Bronze
Sydney
Pinnacle Drinks
Cat Amongst the Pigeons Fat Cat Barossa Shiraz 2021
95
Gold
Sydney
$19.95
Cat Amongst the Pigeons Fat Cat Barossa Shiraz 2021
92
Silver
Brisbane
Cat Amongst the Pigeons Fat Cat Barossa Shiraz 2021
Silver
Perth
Cat Amongst the Pigeons Fat Cat Barossa Shiraz 2021
87
Bronze
Adelaide
Pinnacle Drinks
Cold Snap Victorian Shiraz 2021
95
Gold
Brisbane
$14.99 DM
Cold Snap Victorian Shiraz 2021
92
Silver
Adelaide
Cold Snap Victorian Shiraz 2021
Silver
Perth
Saint & Scholar
Saint & Scholar Graduates Shiraz 2021
95
Gold
Brisbane
$17.49
Saint & Scholar Graduates Shiraz 2021
86
Bronze
Sydney
Seville Estate
Seville Estate Shiraz
95
Gold
Brisbane
$60 CD
Skillogalee Wines
Skillogalee Shiraz 2021
95
Gold
Melbourne
$28.99 DM
Skillogalee Shiraz 2021
90
Silver
Sydney
Skillogalee Shiraz 2021
85
Bronze
Adelaide
St Hugo Wines
St Hugo Barossa Shiraz 2021
Gold
Perth
$47.99 DM
St Hugo Barossa Shiraz 2021
93
Silver
Brisbane
St Hugo Barossa Shiraz 2021
90
Silver
Adelaide
St Hugo Barossa Shiraz 2021
90
Silver
Sydney
St Hugo Barossa Shiraz 2021
90
Silver
Melbourne
Sutton Grange Winery
Sutton Grange Estate Syrah 2021
96
Gold
Adelaide
$65 CD
Sutton Grange Estate Syrah 2021
88
Bronze
Brisbane
Sutton Grange Estate Syrah 2021
83
Sydney
Swings & Roundabouts
Brash Road Syrah 2021
96
Gold
Melbourne
$42 CD
Brash Road Syrah 2021
Silver
Perth
Brash Road Syrah 2021
82
Sydney
Taylors Wines
Taylors Reserve Parcel Shiraz 2021
95
Gold
Brisbane
$23.80 DM
Taylors Reserve Parcel Shiraz 2021
Silver
Perth
Taylors Reserve Parcel Shiraz 2021
87
Bronze
Melbourne
Taylors Reserve Parcel Shiraz 2021
86
Bronze
Adelaide
The Lane Vineyard
Reunion Syrah 2021
96
Gold
Brisbane
$70 CD
Reunion Syrah 2021
96
Gold
Melbourne
Reunion Syrah 2021
87
Bronze
Sydney
Turkey Flat Vineyards
Turkey Flat Butchers Block Shiraz 2021
95
Gold
Adelaide
$26 DM
Turkey Flat Butchers Block Shiraz 2021
88
Bronze
Brisbane
Turkey Flat Butchers Block Shiraz 2021
88
Bronze
Melbourne
Turkey Flat Butchers Block Shiraz 2021
84
Sydney
Tyrrells Vineyards
Lunatiq Heathcote Shiraz 2021
95
Gold
Adelaide
$35.99 DM
Lunatiq Heathcote Shiraz 2021
87
Bronze
Melbourne
Wynns Coonawarra Estate
Wynns Black Label Shiraz 2021
95
Gold
Brisbane
$29.95
Wynns Black Label Shiraz 2021
93
Silver
Adelaide
Yarra Yering
Yarra Yering Underhill 2021
96
Gold
Adelaide
$109.99 DM
Yarra Yering Underhill 2021
95
Gold
Melbourne
Yarra Yering Underhill 2021
90
Silver
Brisbane
Price details: DM is Dan Murphy price, CD is cellar door price, other prices taken from Google
The lobbyist of last resort has some advice for the wine industry
Advice from the lobbyist of last resort* – the wine industry wastes its time hoping it can influence politicians who know there’s not a vote for them in providing assistance to an industry in crisis.
Australian Grape and Wine, claiming to represent growers and makers, learned that on federal budget night last week. There was not even a nod towards the AGW plea for $85 million of taxpayer’s money. Just silence.
The stark truth is that in no electorate does any Labor member have anything to fear from wine industry protests. Seats with significant wine making and grape growing are all held safely by National and Liberal members. The scope for political leverage is virtually non-existent.
The one hope for the wine lobbyists is helping independents defeat Nationals and Liberals in the string of seats covering the Murray Basin and then hoping for a hung parliament. Then there is a chance for political blackmail to work.
It’s a small chance of getting relief for all those now exiting grape growing as they face bankruptcy but a small chance is better than no chance.
*Richard Farmer was once described by a federal Health Minister as “the lobbyist of last resort” for taking on one impossible lobbying task.
