Tuesday 23rd
February 2010
It’s time to
rediscover Chardonnay; put fashionable prejudices and feeble Sauvignon
Blancs behind you to once again delight in this great variety. And here’s a
“starter for ten”, Salo Yarra Valley Chardonnay 2008 made by Steve Flamsteed
and Dave Mackintosh as a side project from their day jobs.
Salo is French
argot for “uncouth” or “dirty” which sums up the winemaking philosophy
behind the wine. Wild ferment, wild malo, minimal handling and filtration
have all added up to a richly textured, funky wine which thrills those, who
like me, cut their wine drinking teeth on the less than squeaky clean wines
of Burgundy.
salowines@gmail.com
Monday 9th November 2009
Attended the tenth anniversary celebrations of the Australian Alternative
Varieties Wine Show on the weekend. The fabled Italian Long Lunch, cooked
by Stefano de Pieri, is surely the finest meal connected with any wine show
awards event: worth the drive from Adelaide that's for sure.
A new
trophy this year for the Best Wine of the Show was the Dr Rod Bonfiglioli
Trophy named in honour of the show's co-founder, the late and much lamented
"Dr Rod". Rod's widow, Ruby Andrew and show co-founder Bruce Chalmers
presented the trophy to Steve Pannell for his S.C. Pannell 2007 Nebbiolo.
Best
white wine went to McLaren Vale's Beach Road Wines for their Fiano 2009.
Beach Road also picked up one of the Chairman's Wine to Watch awards for
their Greco di Tufo 2009. I've never tasted an Australian Greco di Tufo but
I'm off to McLaren Vale soon to buy some.
While
reports of Chardonnay's death are greatly exaggerated it is wonderful to see
so much interest and passion around these exotic-in-Australia varieties
Friday 6th November 2009
I was a guest speaker at the Riverland Wine "Some Like it Hot" seminar
in Remark this week. I was invited to address the question "The Commodity Wine
Market; Can the Riverland sustain its position?" and also take part in a
panel discussion on Alternative grape varieties that might have a future in
the Riverland. I spoke about the need for the need for a greater level of
communication, trust and understanding to be developed along the value chain
so that the industry can continue to supply the market with the wine it
needs at the prices required.
It was
great to hear that a number of growers and wineries are embracing the
so-called Alternative Varieties; vermentino seems to be gathering quite a
following. Watch this space.
Perhaps the most thought provoking speaker of the day was James Parsons a
New Zealand beef and sheep farmer who has recently completed a six month
Nuffield Scholarship investigating the value chain for New Zealand meat.
James spoke on the highly relevant title of "Value Chains and industry
restructure: can growers be more than price takers?" James has drawn some
conclusions which the wine industry should study. See James' web site
www.jamesparsons.co.nz and
his value chain report.
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