Giles Cooke on Wine

Thistledown Harvest 2014

2014-02-28T11:56:00.002+00:00

One of our labels, The Cunning Plan, alludes to the fact that with every new vintage there is a new, unique challenge and only those flexible and creative enough will rise to the challenge.

The growing season prior to vintage 2014 has certainly illustrated that one should never taken anything for granted – though the challenges faced in Australia certainly pale into comparison with those faced by Europe in 2013.

After a winter with adequate water, spring was dry but the flowering period brought mixed weather with mild, hot and windy weather in succession – leading to poor fruit set for some varieties. Growers in some areas of Barossa were also devastated by a black frost, hitting the area around Ebenezer particularly hard.

December brought mild weather and the promise of a return to the traditional, later harvests and moderate alcohols of yesteryear. Indeed, the leisurely progress of veraison suggested that harvest would be at least a couple of weeks later than last year.

However, the increasingly common heatwaves returned with avengeance leading to a non consecutive period of 13 days over 40 degrees, breaking the previous record of 12. Good reserves of water meant that the vines survived remarkably well but then, just as vines were rushing fruit through to ripeness, mother nature intervened again and dropped up to 160mm of rain in 30 hours!

Though there has been some splitting, the weather is now set fair and the vines, having had a much needed drink, are now slowly ripening their fruit with the potential to still give 2014 all the qualities of a great year. We’re certainly looking at a longer growing season and one that promises lower alcohols.

There is still much to play for but we are excited about the potential – watch this space.

The Great French Wine Drought

2013-12-16T08:45:00.000+00:00

The figures are as alarming to wine buyers as they are pleasing to EU bureaucrats intent on stemming the source of the wine lake: Languedoc-Roussillon production in 2013 is approx 13.3 million hectolitres, in 2012 it was 12 million but in 2000, the 5 year average was 21 million hectolitres.

As in many other areas of Europe, the EU put in place a vine-pull scheme that lacked the discriminating criteria of vine age, commercial value, historical importance or common sense. Instead, we have seen vineyards of significant age, but poor yields, being pulled out when young, vigorous yet commercially indifferent vineyards have been left in the ground. Huge areas of vineyard have been lost, unlikely ever to return to grape cultivation.

That this has happened is deeply concerning but equally, subsidised seas of wine wasn't doing any of us any good either. However, there are signs that worse is yet to come. The average age of growers throughout the region is high at over 50 and there are few signs of enough young-bloods coming into viticulture. When the current generation of growers die, who will tend the vines? What incentive is there for them not to be pulled up?

Many growers have moved, if not in whole, but in part, to cereal production which although it does not give guaranteed high prices, does carry with it much greater flexibility than viticulture for following where the money is going. Coupled with all of these commercial pressures, the climate has become less predictable which in some instances, where the current crop and next year’s fruitfulness are affected, has commercial effects which last two years. The outlook is troubled.

The response of wine producers in the region is to withdraw from the price points which historically would have been their life-blood – they are no longer sustainable and other areas of the world, such as Spain, command those price points more confidently. The potential is to build more value in the extremely high quality that can be achieved in parts of the region. However,without the foundation of their historical business in place, they must be concerned for the long term as to whether that value can be grown quickly enough to compensate for lost volume and to convince the market that there is a premium to pay for keeping those venerable vines with their feet in the ground.

Varietal Incidental

2013-12-01T17:44:00.000+00:00

It was late, and yet Adelaide’s burgeoning wine bar scene beckoned us forth and, in the interest of professional thoroughness, we complied.

For those of you not around in the eighties, and therefore not familiar with the work of the Sheffield new romantics-cum-popsters, Human League, the similarity of look between Phil Oakey and the current batch of hipster barmen will have escaped you. But, with head shaven on one side, floppy hair t’other and chin generously festooned with fluff, the similarity was unmistakeable. Wherever we went in Australia, the essential must-have for hipster mixters was a beard, the more like zz top the better.

This was one such establishment, the proprietor literally bristling with pride over his uniformly eclectic wine list and his equally eclectic taste in facial furniture. It was late, very late so my recall is perhaps a little hazy but I distinctly remember being poured a glass of Riesling that he had had a hand in making. It was, predictably, a natural wine, with deep colour, little in the way of neither varietal distinction nor character. Not downright bad but to my weary tastebuds, utterly pointless. We were even told that when he bottles the wine he sticks a matchstick down the side of the cork for some controlled (yeah right, controlled like a Toronto mayor in a crack den) oxidation. Not quite the low intervention, low input winemaking espoused by the naturalistas.

But, this did get me thinking about some of the recent articles written about the importance, or otherwise, of varieties. Andrew Jefford wrote an interesting article that questioned the use of the variety as the dominant feature of the language of wine communication. He argued that because the flavour and character of wines varies depending on where and how it has been grown, even when grown from the same variety, place has more relevance than variety in determining what the consumer should expect from a wine.

Some have gone even further, with the affable Steve Webber at De Bortoli espousing the “varietal incidental” theory that varietal character should be subdued. I would suggest that such theories, and those of Jefford, are somewhat elitest and expect a far higher degree of consumer interest and engagement than is the reality.

While many of us in the wider wine community are comfortable to lose the variety as the defining element of any wine, to suggest that the majority of consumers, most of whom have been taught to recognise and value variety over and above everything else, can or would like to spend the time learning about every single place that grows grapes, is preposterous.

What’s more, the argument is commercially arrogant in that it expects a far higher degree of consumer knowledge than would be expected for virtually any other product bought.

Take for instance beef. I’m quite happy talking about and recognising the difference between grain fed versus grass fed, wet aged versus dry aged and slow growing indigenous versus fast growing hybrid crosses – but are the majority of beef consumers? If we discount the virtues of varietal dominance, are we to describe all beef by where it came from first rather than the fact that it is beef first and foremost?

Even if you discount that argument as being too generalist, we could take it further. Let’s accept the notion that if wine=beef then variety=breed. No doubt a Dexter tastes different whether it has been grown in the borders of Scotland on grass or in Ireland on grain but its small frame, and finely grained meat remain consistent throughout. Its basic genetic structure remains the consistent, defining and easily communicable feature – and so it is true of Cabernet Sauvignon, Sauvignon Blanc or Syrah.

I revel in the complexities and nuances of wine, positively froth at the subtle yet profound influence that provenance has on the end product but understand that for many, wine is an enjoyable drink to have with or without food. They are already baffled by the intricacies of wine so let’s not make it harder for them by tearing up the rule book.

The Old Dog

2013-10-15T12:19:00.000+01:00

The U.S tends to do things big. The ongoing senate stand-off over the gargantuan national debt ceiling is testament to the fact that when the U.S does something, it does it on a grand scale.

And so it was with Australian wine. The clamour with which the U.S wine drinking cognoscenti displayed all the elements of a mania – extreme excitement, boundless energy and some irritability. Wines with the right scores simply flew (despite their sometimes leaden weight) and importers and distributors fought for the rights of the lucky few. Encouraged by the reverential treatment, some producers even had the audacity to favour the less critical Americans over their stalwart Brit partners.

It was not unusual at the time to receive Australian suppliers who, having spent time in the U.S, were somewhat taken aback to have to convince sceptical U.K buyers that they were anything but jonny-come-latelys.

The sad truth is that even the luke-warm approval of UK critics for Australia’s premium wines turned to apathy and in the U.S the reversal of fortune was more spectacular. With all the grace of Vanessa Feltz dancing the tango, U.S importers and distributors turned toes on Australia and fled what they saw as a sinking ship.

The intervening years have not been kind to Australia, but they have been cathartic. Forced to leave the comforting shores of the UK and U.S, Australian wineries have found a wealthier and more valuable market in the Far East and are no longer totally reliant on the traditional markets.

So, with news this week that the tide is slowly turning for Australian wineries in the U.S, are we to believe that Australia is finally back on course?

Well, the signs seem to signal that this is the case. The global supply and demand cycle is in Australia’s favour for once. Strong like no other currency (except the Canadian$) the Aussie $ is on the slide and forecasts suggest that we might get back to $2:£1 for the first time in many years. This can only improve the quality v value relationship in export markets.

Coupled with this, supply from the larger than expected 2013 vintage is bountiful in warm climate areas and poor in some of the premium regions such as Barossa. This can only be a good thing as it will polarise the price of cheap, irrigated, warm climate fruit from that which has quality, provenance and character.

Elsewhere in the world, the supply situation could play into the hands of the Australian wineries. A generally poor vintage in Europe in 2013 will yield large quantities of mediocre wine in some areas and in others, a mercifully small harvest of below par wine. Chile has just suffered its worst frost for 84 years and the other countries still have the feel of one-trick-ponies. All seems to be going the way of the Australian for once – let’s hope this doesn’t carry through to sport…..

More than all of this though is that the quality and diversity of Australian wine, while always commendable, is now utterly brilliant. Brilliant not only in quality but in subtlety, nuance, experimentation and attitude. Less of the please-all styles of yesteryear and more of the sod-you if you’re not going to buy it we’ll at least make the wine we want to make. And in adopting this attitude, they have, unwittingly set the foundations for the great comeback.

The condescending, used to talk about the more interesting wines of the marginal climates, the quirky, off-beat stuff found in Beechworth, Canberra, Tasmania and such like. Damning with faint praise, the criticism might have had some validity but it ignored the fact that some of the most passionate, life-long experimenters were right at the heart of the industry, working in some of the most established regions.

Nowadays, the roll-call of those willing to push the boundaries and proudly sell wines with a new Australian identity are too numerous to mention (though obviously our very own thousand candles and Domaine A spring to mind) Some of the most controversial wines are being made in that heartland of the traditional Australia, Barossa and, as the standard bearer for Australia in export markets, it is this region that once again is at the forefront of the resurgence of Australia.

As we invest ever deeper in this region with our Thistledown project, I for one am confident that this is one dog who can teach the wine world a few new tricks

This little piggy....

2013-08-25T13:29:00.000+01:00

Sitting over lunch at the thousand candles farmstead, Bill Downie reminded me that the first time we met we talked very little about wine and more about pigs. I told him of my love for Jamon and of my unlikely plans to persuade my neighbours to give up a few metres of their garden in order to create a communal pig run. In turn, Bill told me of his plans to keep pigs and experiment with different foodstuffs to see what difference it made to the flavour of the subsequent ham.

Many years on and while I still obsess over great jamon, my garden remains a porcine free zone. I did almost persuade my wife, and some neighbours, to buy some “micro” pigs but in the end, the risk of my wife returning home to find me cooking one of these bite sized piggies was deemed too high. Bill, on the other hand, has embraced the self sufficiency model and is busy rearing and butchering his piggies very successfully.

But I wasn’t there just to chew the porcine fat, this was my chance to absorb the thousand candles vibe – and a very chilled out vibe it turned out to be. Much has been said about thousand candles over the past year and it’s clear that Bill has grown a little weary of the somewhat spiteful attacks on the project by sceptical fellow winemakers. It’s difficult to see why this well intentioned project could elicit anything more than praise for being brave enough to do things differently.

Thousand candles aims to express the character of one vintage on one farm, with all the vicissitudes of climate and weather that accompany it. This is a very real exploration and communication of a very Australian notion of terroir. Bill volunteered that he believed that the Australian interpretation of terroir needs to be different from that accepted in Europe.

Many people comment on how the sky in Australia seems larger, higher, more soaring than that found in Europe. I asked Bill why he thought this was the case and his explanation went some way to elucidating his notion of Australian terroir.

Australia is an old land, something often overlooked by those looking at its relatively recent modern history. Australia is a low country, its flesh almost seeming to sink back down towards its skeleton, revealing its bones, its very structure. The result is that the land shrinks away from the sky, providing more space and more height. In Europe the land is younger, more urgent – continually pushing itself up towards the sky resulting in less space, less volume.

Given these fundamental differences, it’s not unreasonable to hypothesise that the way in which nature interacts with its environment will also differ. In Europe, the notion of terroir is very heavily weighted towards what is below the ground – the soil, the drainage, the nutrients. Downie hypothesises that the Australian notion of terroir must be weighted towards what happens above the ground. In such an old land, the soils are more homogenous, more consistent and while pockets of unique soils exist, these are the exception rather than the rule. We must therefore look towards unique climates, micro climates and original interactions between the climate and the vine. Against such an exaggerated canvas it is the colour above the ground that paints the Australian concept of terroir.

Hail! Let sanity prevail

2013-08-09T08:41:00.001+01:00

While many of us basked in a remarkably settled, warm spell of something that in olden days was called summer, spare a thought for our vine growing friends on the continent.

Gale force winds, thunder, lightning and most damaging, hail have been unleashed on a number of French wine growing regions with alarming consequences. Last Friday's hail storm in Bordeaux are alleged to have destroyed 20000 hectares of vines - that's potentially 12 million cases lost. Now, whether that loss of wine will have any real effect on the end consumer is doubtful as competition is such that others will take its place. However, what it does do is clearly illustrate how perilous the position is of many vine growers around the world and, critically, how little attention is given to this by those involved in the supply chain.

We know competition is tough but when those who risk their livelihoods on an annual basis can barely make ends meet in a good year, there is something wrong.

Perhaps we need to accept that (try telling a French vinegrower this) many areas of the world need to grub up their less good vines in order to put a floor under the price of the better fruit? Of course, many regions have already gone some way down this road but will it be enough?

I'm not sure it will be until we efficiently differentiate the industrially, reliable, consistently produced but ultimately mediocre wine from something with a little heart and soul. Many people, even in the trade, talk about wine in the same breath as beers and spirits and expect wine to be able to do the same consistent job for them - taste ok and make margin. We need to be able to deliver for them but we also need to make a clear distinction between the wine that can be produced year in year out, consistently yielding and with stable pricing and the wine that is produced in areas where climate is a more variable factor.

In the mind of the consumer, this needs to be very clear. To straddle my hobby horse once again, one of the clearest ways of doing this is through packaging. Lets welcome the growing trend in the on-trade of selling wines by the glass from bag in box, lets encourage the retail sector to do the same. Lets not do what the Swedes do and confuse the message by putting very high quality in bag in box but make it a clear differentiator between the consistent and palatable and the artisan and the exquisite.

Give the consumer a real, understandable retail ladder to climb and we might be surprised just how high they are prepared to climb.

A Welcome Interruption

2013-08-01T06:43:00.000+01:00

We're delighted that we're going to be working with Paul Henry and Bill Downie with their arresting thousand candles project.

I've known Paul for a long time. When Paul headed up Wine Australia in London it was very much at the height of our growth in the Australian sector and we had opportunities to work together on the Stella Bella Scholarship amongst other activities. We've remained in touch since then and its great to work with Paul on a project that changes perceptions of Australian wine in a way that was so difficult to succeed in when he was at Wine Australia. If there is a more convincing, eloquent communicator on oz wine then I'm yet to meet him.

I know less of Bill, though suffice to say, his reputation for making some of Australia's finest pinot, proceeds him. Carved from a different stock than that of the mainstream Oz winemaker, I'm very much looking forward to getting to know him, and all about thousand candles later on this month when I head out to Oz.

The name of the estate is inspired by a story from the farm's history.Referring to a 19th century account of an indigenous people's ceremony granting freedom of the bush, a European settler who, commenting on the tribesmen dramatically holding aloft their firesticks remarked that it was as if the "twilight had been interrupted by a thousand candles"

For all it’s haunting, subtly nuanced style, this is a bold wine.It is bold not for fulfilling the hackneyed Australian stereotype of strident fruit, deep flavour and “over-delivery” but bold for its unique blend and for challenging perceptions of vintage and varietal appropriateness. It also happens to taste wonderful”

And for that reason alone we eagerly await it autumnal arrival in the UK

Life, Death, Eating and Greeting

2013-08-01T06:13:00.000+01:00

Upon the loss of someone close to you, some people feel compelled to commit their thoughts to paper, a downloading of their innermost thoughts, a catharsis.

Somehow, the loss of Dad made writing a blog seem somewhat trivial and so from the 50 days from his diagnosis, through to his death on April 2^nd to now I’ve let my thoughts come and ago, conscious not to unleash a maudlin monologue upon an unwitting reader expecting some sage (I wish) wine ramblings.

Throughout all of this, my love of food and wine has been a frequent sanctuary and I have been fortunate to be able to cook for many of the most voracious Alliance appetites at our recent company getaway at the beautiful Barwheys farmstead conversion in deepest, darkest Ayrshire.

For both Miriam (our sales director and erstwhile chef) and I, the opportunity to conceive and execute a meal on this scale had been a long held wish and the reality proved to be every bit as exciting and fulfilling as we had hoped.

It’s all too easy to forget why we got into the wine industry in the first place and so this event had, as its objective, the requirement to raise the bar in terms of food and wine culture while giving all of us a much needed opportunity to spend quality time with one another.

Wines such as Remelluri Reserva 2000 from 5 litre bottle, Clos du Marquis 1990, Vina Gravonia Blanco, Vieux Telegraphe 1998 and many many more accompanied an Iberian themed menu that included Iberico pigs cheeks with truffle as its centrepiece.

It’s fair to say that the event went well – the pictures speak a thousand words. I hope we achieved our objectives. I know Dad would have been proud.

The Gift Horse

2013-02-28T08:51:00.000+00:00

No doubt you have all come across friends or neighbours who loudly decry the demise of the local independent butcher while unpacking their pre-packed meat from a.n other multiple grocer. They are no doubt the self same people who have an opinion on every bottle you bring round, but then think nothing of buying most of their wine on a "half price" deal in the same grocer.

Behind closed doors, we as an industry, snigger and scoff at such people for their lack of principles, their hypocritical behaviour in the face of such obvious information on where they should be really buying food and drink and what they should be paying for it. We write articles about how we should all trade up, the inequities of the duty and tax regime and the sad demise of small growers and independent producers around the world.

So why then, when given the rare opportunity to preach to a television audience, do we pander to the lowest common denominator and suggest that there has never been a better time to buy cheap wine?

Yes, we do live in economically challenging times but like the current meat scandal, the answer is not to keep drinking or eating the same quantity but it is to eat or drink less but do so at a higher and more sustainable price and quality.

This year we face growing demand from nations prepared more than we are willing to, we face lower harvests across many of the largest growing countries and an ever increasing tax burden - not to mention the anti-alcohol brigade. Against this backdrop, we have a meat scandal that clearly shows that when you push the supply chain to the absolute limits then something has to give.

Building on this antipathy to over-processed, dubious quality meat, the wine industry has a clear opportunity to partner the movement towards transparency in supply chains, the move to eating less of better quality, the support for the independent and the authentic.

It is therefore all the more frustrating that when presented with an opportunity on a plate, we choose to look the gift horse in the mouth.

Drink Less, Drink Better

2012-11-26T09:09:00.000+00:00

My last post, Beyond Chateau Chunder, referred to some of the issues of the wine trade which may, or may not, have had the Australian wine boom as their catalyst.

We all know the problems: consumers trained to buy only on price or a dubious deal; high tax regime ; no easy brand hierarchies to guide the consumer ; infinite replacement ; fragmented, competitive market and so on....

And so we are about to enter 2013, a year that may well be unlucky for some if we continue on the same path, with some fairly stark choices in front of us. We also have some opportunities that at present seem like fairly fundamental challenges.

2012 will go down as one of the smallest global wine grape harvest in the last 40 years. The European wine lake has been all but drained, Australia's grape supply is getting back in synch with demand, California is in deficit and South America has little excess with which to feed thirsty markets.

The obvious outcome is that prices will rise, in some cases substantially. Some of these price increases will be opportunistic, some fundamental and long lasting. How we, as an industry, handle these challenges will determine how many of us survive the next 5 years.

Given that we also live in austere times, the possibility that consumers will choose to drink the same quantity but at inevitably lower buy in prices, is a real one - and one that few of us can afford to let happen. The big opportunity is to drive home the message that now is the time to "Drink Less, Drink Better"

Adopted by the entire trade, and run as a concerted campaign including print & digital media platforms, Drink Less, Drink Better could include messages regarding the iniquity of the alcohol tax regime and the benefits of trading up as well as strong corporate responsibility angles, health benefits, supporting communities both in wine regions and in the UK through sustainable viticulture and retailing.

We've long talked about how important it is to trade up in terms of quality, but generally we are talking to ourselves. Many of the trade debates at present are rather introspective and so, in 2013, could we not, as an industry, get together to to make our voices heard?

I hope so.

Beyond Chateau Chunder

2012-11-21T22:12:00.002+00:00

In 10 days time, I head off for Australia to visit the odd supplier, do some field visits with a distributor in Sydney and then head off to the Barossa and MacLaren Vale to arrange grape purchases for the 2013 vintage.

It was therefore very timely that the much trailed Chateau Chunder aired last week and, like most people in the wine trade, I found it pretty entertaining. But there were aspects that troubled me.....

I joined the wine trade in 1992, straight out of university and as such I was a willing convert to the Australian cause - even I was tiring of the seemingly endless "reserves" of Bulgarian Cabernet. My first memories of wines are littered with historical names, Rouge Homme, Leo Buring and Mitchelton Preece - many of whom have been, sadly, put to the sword by corporate Australia.

Subsequently, I have travelled, supported and bought Australian wine in a professional and personal capacity and remain a huge supporter of Australian wine. However, the Australian wine phenomenon of the 1990's and early noughties has had a lasting detrimental effect.

Most "booms" are just that - unsustainable, over heated markets with an inevitable crash and though, in the UK, Australian wine cannot be considered to have crashed, it certainly has lost considerable market share and suffered from a rather beleaguered image. When, in fact, the quality and diversity of Australian wine has never been higher, why is this the case and how is it connected to the past?

Over Delivery or Under Selling?
Various comments were made during Chateau Chunder about Aussie wine "over delivering" and it has been a consistent theme of Australian wine marketing in Western markets. More recent forays by Australian producers in Asia may well have discovered that over delivering there is tantamount to under-selling your product and in a market influenced by prestige and glamour, this is a distinct no-no. The image that Australian wine over delivered was immediately attractive and in the early days, was generally very true. Once volumes rose and promotional mechanics took hold, the ability to over deliver disappeared.
So, whilst it seemed amazing that Australian wine offered the consumer so much more fruit, so much more flavour and so much more bang for the buck, it also gave the consumer unreasonable expectations of what they could expect at low price points - price points and quality ratios that should the exchange rate ever move (which they have) would not be sustainable.
Moreover, the belief that high quality wine can be made at low costs spoilt the UK consumer forever and set in train the promotional mechanics that have held the industry hostage ever since.

Vinous Nihilism

The democratisation of wine that the Australian wine boom helped to bring about has many positives. It increased the overall volume of wine drunk, moving the overall alcohol consumption of the UK towards wine and away from beers and spirits. It introduced wine to a whole new generation and sector of society with its colourful varietal labelling and vibrant flavours.

But for all the good that Australian wine did, the industry both globally and locally is not in a healthy state. We constantly talk about how we get consumers to move away from buying solely on promotion, how we get consumers to trade up and how we get consumers to engage with us but have we, through this process of democratisation and demystification created consumers who do not care how it is made, where it is from or for that matter, what it tastes like as long as the price is right? I've heard it described, by one of the journalistic movers and shakers of the time, that in bringing down the walls of wine snobbery, they opened up the world of wine but then did not replace it with anything to support it other than price.
In the U.S they have points, influences in Asia are based on health, prestige and gifting, in traditional wine producing countries they have a wine culture that values the product more realistically but in the UK we have price.

There is of course no going back but there are lessons to be learned on how to build brands for the long term, how to value your product correctly from the start and, however much you might want to, once you have stripped something naked, no amount of hurried dressing will rebuild that air of mystery.

Wine's Generous Heart

2012-10-28T19:44:00.000+00:00

It's been a year of seismic change in the wine trade and not all for the better.

When the economic crash of 2008 occurred, no-one expected that the wine trade would come through it unscathed. Indeed, many would have hoped that some of the wine trade "hangers on", those people who did not really need to make a profit to justify their existence, would have been weeded out during what has been a harrowing time for the trade. What has been surprising is that it has taken until 2012 for the real fall-out to occur and it has been businesses that would previously have been thought healthy that have perished. The recent demise of such trade stalwarts as Waverley, Stratfords and D&D has given everyone a reality check and reinforced the need to evolve and improve relentlessly.

More poignantly, it has been the wine trade people that have left us that have really made an impact. John Avery MW, Patrick Sandeman and now John Radford (not to mention the many others) have all left us too early and it is this that has given me, and I'm sure others, a wake up call to make sure that we are not just being successful but happy and perhaps most importantly, giving something back.

As the speed of change has increased and the need to "add value" become a mantra for all, I wonder (and stongly suspect) that the more altruistic elements of the business are being sidelined - if not being forgotten completely.

Speaking from experience, companies such as Waverley, played an important role (particularly in Scotland) in trade education, mentoring and interaction with the interested public. As business has got "harder" the ability of any business to donate samples or stock for anything other than what can be measured by results has receded and whilst this is wholly understandable, is it really desirable?

John Radford's death is very sad. Though I did not know him well, I judged with him and was involved in some Spanish masterclasses and always found him to be embued with a generosity of heart and spirit that one could not help but love. Not one to suffer fools gladly I suspect and certainly not one to endure endless visits to nondescript vineyards (he once, on a trip to Rioja, told a friend of mine that he did not want to see an effing vineyard ever again) he was however a brilliant ambassador not only for Spain but for enjoying life.

I first met John when he was lecturing for the WSET on the Diploma course in London. At the end of the lecture, I heard some of the students complaining that there was nothing for them to write notes on, but to have judged the man on whether he stuck to the syllabus was to have underestimated John. I, and I'm sure many others, left that lecture utterly captivated by the prospect of visiting Spain and enjoying the country (and its food and wine) just a fraction of how much John had so obviously enjoyed it.

John came across as totally non-commercial, utterly passionate and determined to enjoy life. His time was given generously and as a result he inspired countless wine trade fledgelings. I for one will be eternally grateful to John for inspiring me to not only love wine but to love the wines of Spain.

Moreover, the death of John, will help me, and others, reflect on the fact that at this time of major change in the industry, we all need to re-double our efforts to give of our enthusiasm, knowledge and passion as generously as John have his so that the wine business is as colourful, exciting and captivating as our predecessors ensured it was for us.

John Radford RIP

The best steak in the world

2012-07-28T22:43:00.000+01:00

Having lived in Scotland for much of my life, I am no stranger to great beef. Scotland still produces some of the finest meat and the strains of cattle first bred in this country have provided the genetic backbone for beef industries in many other famous beef producing countries.

It's because of this that my claim that the best steak in the world is to be found in Spain is somewhat controversial. I first came across the pleasure of the chuleton de buey (ox steak) many years ago in a brilliant asador/sideria in Vitoria - a town in the heart of the Basque region. Inventive tapas bar at the front and outstanding restaurant at the back, Restaurante Sagartoki serves up what was the best meat I have ever tasted. The meat comes from the ox and is dry aged for lengthy periods to ensure maximum flavour. Cooked over charcoal and served simply with plenty of salt, the chuleton at Sagartoki is a brilliant combination of smoky, crusty, caramelised outer with a centre of purple, marbled meat with rich, grassy, nutty and faintly cheesy aromas coming from the extensive fat. I thought it could not be bettered...

But a few years ago I began to hear about a restaurant near Leon entirely devoted to the meat of the ox. A little out of the way of many of my wine trips, it took a while before we could create an itinerary where a visit to Bodega El Capricho was possible. Last week, we finally went made it and the extraordinary anticipation was not misplaced.

Jose Gordon's restaurant has been there for three generations but it was Jose who provided the determination to make Capricho a world class destination restaurant.

We started off with Cecina, air dried ox leg, thinly carved in the style of Jamon Iberico. Now, I love my Jamon Iberico de Bellota like few others but I was astounded by the quality and depth of flavour of this cecina. Superb.

The beasts that provide the meat are no ordinary cattle. Jose Gordon travels throughout Spain to find mature, working ox bulls which he can bring back to his farm near the tiny village of Jimenez de Gamuz, where his restaurant is based. There, after a long hard life, they are tended with great care and respect, before being sacrificed under the watchful eye of Senor Gordon.

The meat is then aged for up to 90 days before being served to the lucky diners. The raw meat looks extraordinary - huge quantities of fat surround the gigantic cuts and the meat itself has marbling far in excess of the finest wagyu. Once cooked, the meat is intense, very soft, still well marbled, intensely juicy and imbued with a depth and complexity of flavour I have not experienced before.

We were lucky in that the night we visited, the restaurant was quiet and Jose himself was on hand to not only choose the piece of meat we were to enjoy, but also to share a glass of wine and then, brilliantly, to show us the cool room where all the meat is aged. These are massive beasts, up to 1600kg when alive, and the size of the half carcasses was staggering. The sweet smell of grass and nutty butter was almost overwhelming.

Capricho is an inspiring, brilliant place that deserves to be on the must-dine list of everyone who not only loves meat, but who cares about the respect and welfare of animals.

Energising Wine Fairs

2012-06-07T08:06:00.002+01:00

Exhausted but mentally uplifted, I was ear wigging on a phone conversation taking place on the airport shuttle at Hong Kong. " Fantastic, just like the old days, deals being done everywhere" was how this Aussie wine producer summarised Vinexpo Asia Pacific 2012.

It was a view that will have been shared by the majority of exhibitors, visitors and those researching the market such as myself. Although not a huge show, it looks a little larger than LIWF a few years ago, it had an amazing buzz, a real thirst for knowledge and a sense of value. Despite not generally accepting visitors from outside of Asia Pacific, Vinexpo draws on a huge resource of countries hungry for knowledge and trial, not to mention its relative proximity to Australia and as such this show is a natural hub for the region. I can see that this show, and others like it, will continue to flourish.

It's only natural to reflect on where our own national wine trade show is currently at and, without wishing to tread a way too familiar path, it's clear that LIWF needs a re-injection of life for it to withstand the current challenges it faces as a result of economic lethargy and improving competition overseas.

It's too easy though to lay the blame at the door of Brintex or Excel. I travelled to Hong Kong to visit a show, winemakers come from all over the globe to attend LIWF and some member of the business see a 15 minutes ride on DLR as enough of a disincentive to avoid the fair. The location of the fair is a red-herring. Fact.

If everyone valued the wine trade's efforts, was excited at the anticipation of discovering something new, edgy and inspirational do you think that trip on the DLR would seem so long? No, the truth is that we get the fair that we deserve and those people who put more in, get more out - just look at the positive coverage that Catherine Monahan has got as a result of the innovative Wine Stars initiative.

Though the criticism of the fair that it is "too commercial" is an odd one for a business that desperately needs to do sensible deals, I know what people are getting at. The relative success of the Real and Raw wine fairs (done on a shoestring I would suspect) indicates that people are tired of the excesses of the corporate world and that the double tier, overtly branded offerings that were appropriate for LIWF a few years ago, seem less appropriate now.

Learning from all of this, is it possible to breathe new life back into LIWF through a more stripped down approach that encourages new blood, exciting new market entrants, innovation, creativity and energy? an approach that was egalitarian, engaging and inspirational. London needs a national wine fair, the trade needs new ideas so lets have a debate about exactly what we collectively need to do to make London the jewel in the wine fair crown......just don't mention the DLR

Time to ditch the bottle?

2012-04-11T22:29:00.000+01:00

My brother used to live in Sweden and when, ten years ago, I saw and heard about the Systembolaget stores I recoiled at the regulation and perceived lack of choice offered by the system.

Last week, I was back in Stockholm to meet with our new distributors and as part of the learning process, we visited a flagship store to assess the opportunities and challenges. I have to say that in general I was impressed. Pricing was not as high as anticipated, the choice was extensive, imaginatively ranged and inclusive of a great many big names and ultra premium selections.

The biggest difference of course is in the balance of formats that wine is sold in. Bag in box accounts for 60% in Sweden! But to call some of the formats "bag in box" is to do them an injustice as the innovation and creativity far outweighs anything that we see here in the UK.

In past blog posts, I have raised the issue of the lack of imagination in terms of packaging in the UK as being at the heart of our retail woes - what other industry uses essentially the same packaging to sell entry level products and luxury products? Whether our wine is £4 or £40 we package it in a 75cl glass bottle and expect the consumer to decipher whether the gloss of the label is authentic or little more than lipstick on a pig.

I'm with other commentators who have suggested that we really do need to encourage a move to alternative packages for everyday wine, not only for the opportunity it would give all of us to motivate trading up but also for environmental reasons.

Memorable Tales of Food & Wine

2011-12-20T17:14:00.000+00:00

Gastronomica

by Alliance Wine

“Memorable Tales of Food & Wine”

The link between our sense of smell and our memory is incredibly powerful and the ability to re-call events and emotions as a result of smelling something familiar, even if not consciously committed to memory, is common to us all.

Proust’s famous piece on the evocative abilities of tea and madeleines, the haunting, sinister attraction of aroma in the novel “Perfume” or the more populist recollections of Will Smith in “Summertime” (or should that be Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince? " Remember how the smell of a girl brings back nostalgia")) all indicate that whether we know it or not, our sense of smell and memory are inextricably linked.

In gastronomy, those associated with molecular gastronomy in particular have re-awakened a link between taste, aroma and memory in a way that is perhaps more conscious than ever before but is more thoughtful, effective and enjoyable than ever. One only needs to look at the enjoyment to be gleaned from Heston’s Victorian feasts to realise that food (and of course wine) has the power to do far more than satiate.

It is however both an underdeveloped research subject and an under-utilised tool by those in the wine industry – and particularly those whose job it is to enlighten and engage the consumer. When debates rage on about how we should engage the consumer or indeed whether the consumer needs to be engaged at all, are we perhaps missing the oldest trick in the book when it comes to marketing? In telling the stories that bring wine to life, could we be more aware of the power of smell and its ability to touch and to evoke emotions far more powerful than simplistic price led mechanics will ever be?

Gastronomica by Alliance Wine is our 2012 portfolio tasting – but it is more than that. Involving stories from our producers of people and meals long gone (but fondly remembered) as well as the inspirational food moments that our staff have enjoyed, we will relate the stories, smells and tastes that bring the subject of wine to life. Dishes from winemaker’s recollections will be re-invented and paired with memorable wines to produce a tasting that highlights the strengths of Alliance’s portfolio but also the different perspectives that we bring to the industry.

For more information on the tastings to be held in London and Edinburgh, please contact Laura Boyce or Christine Allen. laura.boyce@alliancewine.co.uk

christine.allen@alliancewine.co.uk

For further discussions on food, wine, memory and marketing, please contact Giles Cooke MW giles.cooke@alliancewine.co.uk

A Matter of Taste

2011-11-17T01:54:00.001+00:00

One of the great joys of the wine business is the network of friends and colleagues that one develops - the feedback and perspectives that they can give, on your own business, on their own businesses and on the wider wine market - are just so valuable.

Yesterday was a day spent with wine trade friends both old and new and it was fascinating and comforting to hear that the current challenges of the market are not unique to the UK. Conversations moved from the logistics challenges of the small distributor through to the global economy but perhaps the most interesting discussion revolved around something much more difficult to put your finger on.

A day rarely goes by without debate over the wine industry's lack of ability to engage the consumer consistently in a fashion that drives loyalty and willingness to experiment and premiumise. Whilst some commentators contest that this stems from a lack of real interest from the trade in terms of hearing what the consumer wants, that is not a view that I believe rings true. I'm beginning to think that the difficulty in engaging with wine by those who drink it on a more casual basis, is down to something much more fundamental.

Imagine sitting down for the evening to watch a bit of tv and finding yourself drawn to the almost obligatory food programme on at prime time. However, far from the content of the programme being engaging, interactive and distracting, the content of the programme was made up of "stories" about 10 different breeds of cattle and the different feeds on which they were nurtured. How interested would you be?

Then think about whether, in most people's view, there is much difference in the importance attached to the purchase of wine and the importance attached to the purchase of beef? For many people, both are staple items in the weekly grocery shop and therefore why should we think that anyone would be interested in exploring, or being educated about, the minutiae of wine anymore than we would be interested in the minutiae of cattle rearing?

Whilst I certainly don't pretend to have all the answers, I do believe that we have to find a new way of engaging the consumer and it all comes down to a matter of taste. Without wishing to give too much away, our tastings next year will focus on how we all interact with wine and draw on research about how our senses are hard wired and consequently our ability to relate our experience of different sensations varies greatly dependent on whether we see, hear taste or smell them. Intriguingly, whilst smell (the most important sense for us wine enthusiasts) is one of the most evocative senses, it is also the most difficult to accurately relate to others without simile. In the past, the obscurity of the language used to describe these similes has been criticised but is this missing the point? Perhaps it is time that we need to find more effective ways of not only engaging all of the senses but building on them to create vivid pictures in the eyes of the consumer that can be accurately expressed and result in far more effective emotional connections.

Refreshing Rioja

2011-10-02T20:49:00.000+01:00

With the red harvest well under-way in even the most extreme of Riojan vineyards, the omens for a good quality, lower yielding harvest look promising thanks to a long period of drought and warm, clear harvesting conditions. With all of the recent stats on Spanish wine exports looking very healthy, it would appear to be a good time to be a producer in the region. However, this simplistic judgement ignores an emerging polarisation between those willing to exploit the traditional quality system and those committed to making genuinely special wine on a sustainable level. Rioja's quality grading system - Joven, Crianza, Reserva and Gran Reserva - is, once you have aged the wine for the required time period, entirely self governing. That is to say that the quality of the wine put into this system, and the age and the quality of the oak used, plays no part in the eventual quality grading. Many traditional regions of the world have seen an exodus of quality orientated players from the established quality grading system when faced by regulations that encourage mediocrity but thus far, Rioja is not one of them. However, a growing number of producers are voicing concerns that the system is broken.

Perhaps one of the most high profile critics of a system that, during the 2010 vintage, encouraged large brands to push grape prices as little as 40 euro cents per kilo, is Telmo Rodriguez. Telmo's low key return to the family's Remelluri estate last year has been followed by a period of reflection on where to take the property and its wines and further news will be forthcoming soon. However, it is already clear that the compromises that the system allows are not for Telmo and the sense of frustration that the Rioja system could in anyway be seen as equivalent of the Bordeaux classification is palpable. Eschewing the current vogue for Tempranillo dominated plantings, trellised vines and filling out of wines with bought in fruit, Telmo's focus on bush vine Garnacha, entirely estate grown fruit and sensitive use of oak are sure to redefine the quality and style of this most atmospheric of estates. What will be interesting to see is quite how far Telmo will be prepared to go in terms of relying on the quality of the estate rather than traditional terms such as Reserva and Gran Reserva.

15 minutes down the road but a world away in terms of style and approach, Luis Canas are also redefining and enlivening the wines of Rioja. Well known for producing the tour de force that is Hiru 3 Racimos, as well as the perennially crowd pleasing Reserva de la Familia, the wine that stands out from the crowd at the moment, paradoxically, is the 2004 Gran Reserva. Both in the UK and in Spain, the Gran Reserva category has virtually died. Clearly illustrating the region's commitment to a system that promotes mediocrity, once proud Gran Reserva's became dried out, shadows of the fruit that once was there. Many winery's Gran Reservas were just more evolved versions of their reserva. Juan Luis Canas' commitment to viticulture and grape selection means that every wine they produce has its own individual personality and no one wine is just an older version of its sibling. The result is one of the best ranges in the region and, in the 2004 Gran Reserva, the most convincing argument for the category one could find.

The Canas range, though modern, is rooted in tradition and, to a certain degree, follows the accepted norms for Rioja labelling. However, when it came to creating a winery dedicated to his mother, Canas has stepped a little further from tradition. Amaren wines do include an exceptional Reserva (one that won 4 trophies at the IWC this year) but the rule breaking Angeles de Amaren, a Tempranillo Graciano, has no age classification on it despite spending more time in oak than the minimum for Reserva. Interesting to note that Canas' new venture in Ribera del Duero, Dominio de Cair, will also not use the traditional system and will not have an age classification on the label.

Though these are but two wineries in an enormously diverse region, their reaction to a system that relies on the quality of the past, not the present, is one that is sure to find more followers as the commoditisation of aged Riojas forces growers to accept unsustainable prices. The popularity of Rioja in the UK especially, ensures that the current regime is not likely to change anytime soon but for those in the know, the traditional ageing classifications are not the sole quality cue anymore.

Redefining Value

2011-08-16T17:39:00.001+01:00

The relationship between value and price is at best uncertain when it comes to wine.

The past proliferation of so-called half price offers, bogofs and multibuys obscures objective value to such an extent that recent research suggests that although shoppers may feel an overall “glow” of good value having visited a multiple grocer, few can tell you exactly how much they paid for their wine. Furthermore, recent on-trade research highlighted the shaky relationship between price and value by proving that if the same wine in the same outlet was priced at three different levels, consumers bought more of it at the highest price.

So, what are we to make of the oft repeated notion that value means economy and that economy is good for the consumer? Is this the same consumer that does not know what true value is? The same consumer that would prefer to pay more rather than less for the same wine in a restaurant? The same consumer whose notion of value in wine has been so manipulated and mangled by commoditisation that it is no wonder that so many people feel disenchanted and confused by the wine trade?

It doesn’t have to be this way. Even during the depths of the recession, businesses that have been built upon foundations of trust, quality and real value have prospered. Is it now time for a more general reassessment of what value means when it comes to wine? Does the wine industry need to re-set its values?

I believe that it does. Let’s start by breaking the misguided ideology that value means economy. As anyone in the trade knows, the heavy burden of taxation means that wine is very rarely good value below £5 and there is a better correlation between price and quality between £7 and £15 than at any other price points. Could we therefore not focus our “value” propositions a little more ambitiously?

Then perhaps we could move away from the notion that cheap is good for the consumer. Most consumers would be horrified to know that much wine being sold as “value” is being bought at a price that is below a sustainable level for the grower. Whilst minimum pricing legislation now seems unavoidable for some parts of the country, perhaps the wider issue of the long term viability of many wine growing regions could be helped within the UK market by a charter to not buy below agreed sustainable prices and work hard to market the true value of fairness.

A tough challenge to meet perhaps but unless some redefining of what determines true value takes place no end of innovations and customer targeting is going to help us.

Giles Cooke on Wine: The No Thank You Economy

2011-06-11T14:20:00.000+01:00

Giles Cooke on Wine: The No Thank You Economy

The No Thank You Economy

2011-06-11T13:35:00.002+01:00

Gary Vaynerchuck's entertaining and thought provoking book entitled the Thank You Economy is certainly of the current zeitgeist. The book is at one end of the social media spectrum - the end that chooses not to question the return on investment of Social Media, taking it for granted in the same way that few would question the return on investment of your mum. More analytical commentators on social media such as Dan Zarella choose to measure the performance of all key indicators in a bid to demonstrate the impact of social media in a way hitherto neglected.

However, reading Vaynerchuck's work, compelling as it is, I wondered whether caring for our clients is really at the heart of some businesses' (or indeed industries')problems.

Alliance Wine is a business that has cared for its clients from day one and whilst the company has grown significantly, this has never changed. Directors still drop the odd case off for a desperate restaurateur on a Friday evening and no customer dissatisfaction goes unanswered or neglected. And we are not alone - whilst the wine industry is not guilty of being overly innovative, it does generally care for the people within it and for its consumers. A lack of caring just isn't the issue...

Indeed, somewhere else in Vaynerchuck's book lies the clue to some of the UK industry's current problems - think about the title. More often than not, when we think about "thank you" we think about the word "yes" and herein lies the rub.

We are an industry that say "yes thank you" far too often and it is to our detriment. Due to a fragmented, highly competitive supply base that sells to a consolidated, all powerful retail culture, the wine industry has become scared of saying no to deals that simply do not stack up.

At London Wine Trade Fair this year, a conversation with a leading Australian winemaker was enlightening. UK buyers have got used to being all powerful on their trips to an oversupplied, ailing Australian wine market and almost without exception, the answer has been yes to any vaguely reasonable offer to buy large quantities of wine at below cost prices. However, this particular winemaker, having been approached by a buyer for one of the big UK retailers had the audacity to not only refuse a visit but to say that they were not interested in supplying. The bemused buyer, when on Australian soil, called again but was told the same thing - not interested, no thank you.

This is a vital step - the producer may well have had some wine to sell but not at any cost and it is only by more people doing this that we will change both the way that the buyers approach the product but also how the consumers are catered for.

The Australian winemaker was not the only one talking about "No Thank You" at the London fair - there was a general feeling that something has to change, we need to be in a strong enough position to turn away business that will ultimately damage the industry.

Elsewhere in the UK trade, the position is similar, though not on quite the same scale. Within the on-trade in the UK, the legal system is regularly abused by unscrupulous operators who open and close limited companies at the drop of a hat - killing off small suppliers indiscriminantly. Numerous are the cases where an operator, already in a voluntary arrangement, will be offered further credit by suppliers desperate to take advantage of the situation. We need to learn to say "No Thank You"

In Paul Henry's recent blog on the New Currency, he talks about how, in the new economy, instinct will be more important than learning but perhaps the truth lies somewhere inbetween. Most of us know when we do a bad deal, one that is for the short term, one that may damage our future. So, we should learn from our mistakes and use that instinct to be more discerning and when faced with the lure of the short term over the long term, politely say "No Thank You"

Natural Disruption

2011-06-02T15:17:00.001+01:00

This year’s London Wine Trade Fair was intriguing in that the wine trade zeitgeist is currently defined by an event that happened prior to the official fair and by an event occurring at the heart of the fair but with the intention of “disrupting” the traditional model of the wine trade – whatever that may be.

Both events, the Natural Wine Fair and the “Disrupt” pan European wine blended on Thierry’s stand rightly attracted a good deal of attention but what is it that so intrigued commentators and consumers alike?

It is easy to like the ideals behind the Natural wine movement ( yes, I know there is no organised movement!) and the individuals concerned present a highly eclectic, bohemian front but, as it stands, this is not an inclusive development aimed fairly and squarely at the consumer. This is a movement, or collection, of producers whose ideals are to be admired but whose wines are unlikely to be mainstream any time soon. Proponents argue that the mass market wines that the majority of consumers buy are full of chemicals, yeasts and additives that are hidden from the consumer. I think that most of us would argue otherwise but we are wise enough to listen to those calling for lower sulphur levels, more moderate alcohols and less intervention – in this respect the Natural Wine movement could be said to act in a manner similar as Haute Couture does to high street fashion – influencing, improving and leading new styles.

At the fair itself, and arguably more contentious, the Disrupt crowd- sourced and blended pan European wine, reflects not only the current, innovative model adopted by Naked Wines, but also a more disingenuous agenda adopted by the likes of Wine Options.Org. It goes something like “ the wine trade has been ripping the consumer off for years, shrouding wine in mystery in order to maintain control and not giving the consumer what they want”. Is this the wine trade that you recognise?

Now, whilst the wine trade is far from perfect, it is generally run by people with ethics, who value the product that we sell and whilst profit generation has generally come second to product enjoyment this cannot be characterised as a trade hell bent on making money at any cost to the consumer.

The trade has lacked professionalism, especially when it comes to genuine product innovation and marketing expertise. Far from not wanting to hear what the consumer wants, the wine trade has been hampered by a lack of the skills needed to both listen to the consumer effectively and to react to the findings. In light of this, perhaps it is not surprising that certain elements of the trade and of the consuming market have become frustrated.

So how might we improve?

One of the outcomes of the interest in Natural Wine has been to make all of us more aware of how we might influence the production of the products we sell in a positive way. However, calling Natural wine natural suggests that all other wines are not natural and this does us all a great dis-service. If we are going to convince the consumer that the variety and diversity of wine that they face is both enjoyable and worth paying a premium for, we will not do by creating division and chasms.
Wine is essentially a natural product – no one thinks that the freshly prepared fruit salad sold in various supermarkets is unnatural and yet it most likely has very much higher levels of SO2 than any wine would be allowed – and we should strive to convince the customer that individuality and diversity are an integral part of a natural category.

However, few other industries who market natural products do so with one universal packaging option. Take bread for instance – the packaging or lack of it immediately gives the consumer the clues needed to make a decision. If consistency, convenience of use and blandness of flavour are required, the plastic wrapped, pre sliced industrial loaf is ideal. However, the loose, artisan stone baked loaf with its irregular crust and crumb automatically connects with the consumer at a different emotional level. Does wine do that?

By packaging all wine in 75cl glass bottles we level the playing field to such an extent that however creative the label (and however much lipstick we apply to a pig) the consumer struggles to see credible reasons to pay more for their wine or to understand the inconsistencies and diversity of the premium category.

Perhaps we have lessons to learn from other markets. Scandinavia is dominated by bag in box, some markets use tetra-pak or plastic but whatever the package, distinguishing the everyday from the genuinely special in amore tangible form than label or price is a very real way in which the wine trade could innovate and provide an effective ladder of consumer experience that does not exist at present.

Whatever happens, we have to be grateful for those currently challenging the status quo and encouraging us all to think in ways that will ensure that there is a still a wine trade to enjoy in 10 years time.

And your first born son......

2011-02-11T17:54:00.002+00:00

It's February 12th and veraison still looks some way off in many vineyards - it's been a cool, wet season with all too sporadic heat spikes. Disease pressure has been very high and as the rain lashed down across much of South Australia yesterday, many growers must have been wondering what else could befall them this season.

Ever since I've been travelling to Australia, drought has been a very real issue - I remember Sam Plunkett telling me over 10 years ago that lack of water for grass meant the local cows were being fed on the pulp from the orange juice factory. I was also here a couple of years ago when the mercury hit 48 degrees in Adelaide and people perished in the fires that enveloped much of Victoria.

It is therefore astonishing that the situation has been reversed with, at times, frightening speed. Weather patterns right across Australia (Perth is currently experiencing devastating fires)have been at odds with the norm and after the recent floods and cyclones in Queensland one does wonder what next?

Yesterday, I was in the Barossa at Thorn Clarke and Sam Clarke, through the mist of pouring rain, looked mournfully at his lost lawn as a plague of locusts munched on the green shoots - let's hope there is nothing else quite so biblical on the way!

Revenir - Nepenthe Winery Re-Born

2011-02-11T17:25:00.002+00:00

For Peter Leske, the old Nepenthe winery feels like home.Having been winemaker from the start and watching its meteoric rise, seeing the winery mothballed by its previous owner, Australian Vintage, must have been like having an itch that he couldn't quite scratch. Well, Peter has now well and truly scratched that itch - having signed (along with business partner Mark Kozned) for the winery last week.

Aside from working for Alliance Wine Australia, Peter has an active client base of wineries that rely on his expertise to make their wines. This facility will bring them together under one roof and make Peter's life a little easier - that's the plan anyway....

We're delighted for Peter, not to mention for Alliance Wine Australia who will obviously use this facility for small batch processing and greeting clients when in Australia. The winery has been re-named Revenir, to return, and we wish Peter a very happy return to his home in the "hills"

Australia at the Crossroad

2011-02-09T14:41:00.004+00:00

Yesterday it was the first in our regional Portfolio tastings there was much discussion at the London venue about the impact of the Australian dollar on sales in 2011. Sat at Hong Kong airport for the last few hours, waiting for my connection to Adelaide - one can't help but reflect upon the dire situation that many Australian exporters to the UK now find themselves in.

Let's face it, we've all been telling our producers to hold pricing for the last 3 years as currency went the wrong way and our economy lurched from crisis to crisis. I think we all hoped that currency would reverse at some point but what is now clear is that the good old days of exchange rates north of 2 are gone - perhaps forever. This leaves both exporters and importers dangerously exposed. Some wineries, having not increased pricing in the face of export pressure, will now be under invested as a result of falling margins. Lack of investment in crucial marketing and sales initiatives has resulted in declining brand strength - strength badly needed at a time when retail prices have to go up. For many producers, the combination of having to increase prices plus the exchange rate will see their sales volumes decline, even if margins temporariliy rally.Many importers now face portfolios denuded of anything that can be sold sub £10 on the shelf.... the costs of owning vineyards, running wineries and staff just do not add up and so one has to come to the conclusion that for Australian wine in the UK, the future is very lean business models or exceptional quality and individuality.

Fortunately, we have long seen the writing on the wall and our increasingly polarised sourcing and production strategies now seem more legitimate than ever. Nobody's denying that even for the exceptional, the currency issue is very significant but for those really exceptional, inspiring producers the compelling nature of their story is sure to endure in the face of extreme pressure. At the other end of the market, it is difficult to see how anybody that is not a producer or has direct ties to production, will be able to compete adequately in the UK market. The Australian businesses that survive in the future will see an increasingly integrated production and distribution model as the norm though the cosmetics of these arrangements will look very different to the traditional producer opens UK export office model of old.

The new model, trialled and innovated by businesses such as Alliance is lean, flexible, expert and able to add value at every turn. As the market becomes increasingly open due to the consolidations and sell-offs in the majors, further opportunities will arise and this model will become the establishment.

So what does this mean for the large numbers of mid priced, honest wine produced throughout Australia? Well, should they wish to export to the UK (and this should no longer be a default position)they need to find creative, innovative distributors willing to work closely on co-branding and lean business models. Only by doing this will we maintain Australia in the forefront of the consumer's mind and be in a position to re-build brand equity and long term sustainability.

Wine Australia's A+ policy goes a long way to putting the emphasis on quality, individuality and aspiration ( and though temporariliy challenging the withdrawal of funding by the majors might be just what the initiative needs) but it cannot single-handedly reverse the impact we will all feel this year as a result of the currency shift.

For all that we will need to get leaner, better, more creative and inspiring for the long term sustainability of the category, one cannot help but feel for those producers that have stood side by side with the UK trade for the last two decades and surely we all owe it to ourselves to now stand up and sell those wines more effectively and with more passion than ever before. If we all do this then perhaps we'll enter 2012 with Australia having overcome what is surely its most difficult hurdle yet.