ARTICLES
A Most Disappointing Tasting
Spitbucket | 24 May 2012
Wine Events and Dinners
"Fantastic Annual Food and Wine Festival at Noosa."
We all do various presentations and sessions but it is a most cruisy event. We all love it. My Friday stuff was as part of a lunch where five writers were to present wines that the guest of honour, Lisa Perotti-Brown MW, might not have seen. Lisa is one of Robert Parker's team, and hence an extremely important person in the world of wine. She is also good fun and very down to earth. And of course, the public are also able to attend the lunch. Wines I have chosen in past years have not always received the general punter acclaim to which I felt they might be deserving but no matter. I went with Steve Pannell's brilliant 2007 Nebbiolo – an absolutely stunning example of this grape and perhaps, for me, the best ever made in this country. But nebb, with its often dismal colour and serious tannins can be a confusing and confronting variety. Fortunately, everyone loved it. How could you not!
After this event, came the annual Queensland tasting. Originally, I was only one of the panel – pretty much the same writers plus Lisa from lunch – but our organiser and chairman, Tony Harper, had had to pull out, due to family commitments, at the last moment. So I got promoted – talk about the poisoned chalice. My predecessor had arranged the wines (in a manner of speaking). It turned out that there were 16 different Queensland wines from 8 different wineries. All were masked. The idea was simply to come up with the best wine from the lot, which would win 'Best Qld Wine of the Festival' and everlasting glory.
So, after going through the wines, we all sat about and tried to reach a consensus. I’d dearly love to say that we were faced with such a plethora of terrific wines that we were spoilt for choice. We were not. It was utterly dismal. Indeed, one of the most disappointing tastings I have attended in a very long time. We were all, including the interstate writers, assuring Lisa that Queensland could do so much better. We were tossing around names of various wineries (most not represented here but a few that surprisingly were) as examples of what this State could offer. We'd all seen so many Queensland wines that left these for dead. I am not sure Lisa was convinced of that and on the evidence put before her, she must think that Queensland makes some of the most ordinary wines on the planet. As a Queenslander, I was both a bit embarrassed and very disappointed.
In the end, the debate came down to two wines – Robert Channon's Verdelho and Golden Grove's Vermentino. Channon's Verdelho is surely, over its history, the most awarded wine Queensland has ever seen, so no surprise it again was a contender. We split narrowly in favour of it (with six of us at three-all, I gave the casting vote to Lisa), and it was certainly my pick. But of the three that preferred the Vermentino, one was marginal while two others strongly opposed the Verdelho. So strongly that we could not justify giving it the award. On the other hand, the Vermentino was a clean, fresh, well made style that was a bit neutral. A perfectly fine wine but in reality, in most shows we felt it would receive no more than a perfectly acceptable bronze (though on occasion, that neutrality, which can make it a very useful all-rounder with many foods, might see it slip through the cracks). But should a wine of bronze level get a trophy? This was one of my major complaints with the old Sheraton Courier Mail Queensland Wine Show – at one stage, in many categories, the best wine got the trophy. It didn't matter if it was only a bronze level, if it was best in class, it got the big gong. For me, no wine should win a trophy unless it is of gold medal standard. To do otherwise, encourages mediocrity. I know others hold a different view but I can't imagine shifting my position.
As to other wines, a few were okay, perfectly pleasant without highlights, some a little out of whack (a little too much oak with a few, for example), and a few were simply dire – DNPIM!! In case you are wondering, this stands for Do Not Put In Mouth. These days, with the experience and expertise out there, no wine should be so condemned.
So, we decided the best idea was no award this year. This might annoy those that entered but there was nothing on the day that stood up for the entire panel and said, I deserve the trophy. Hopefully, next year! Certainly, we all know that Queensland has plenty of wines that can do it. And I suspect that includes different vintages of some we saw this time.
But allow me now to digress slightly. Forget the actual, results. As a writer based in Queensland (and please note that this is very much a generalisation and that there are plenty of exceptions), I often hear (almost always second-hand as one suspects that those with this view are a bit afraid of actually saying it to us in case they think we might take it badly) how we, as the wine media, don't support the industry. Part of this is because too many Queensland wineries (remember that this is a generalisation and it certainly is not restricted to Queensland) seem to think that wine writers/critics/call them what you will, are part of the industry PR machine; that we are there to push their wines for them. They seem to think that we should be turning up on their doorstep regularly and doing big, gushing articles about them.
Well, we are not directly part of the PR machine (though obviously wineries/retailers etc etc do use our work in promoting wines, if we have reviewed them positively). It is not our job. We write for punters/consumers/wine lovers – not wineries! There are something like 150-200 wineries in Queensland alone. Do they seriously think we have the time to go around to each of them? And just where are we going have that sort of thing published? A dose of reality, which more mature regions do develop, is necessary. I, and I know the same applies for other writers around the country, see very few Queensland samples. If you want publicity, you have to get off your arse and do something about it. Show us your wines. Don't expect us to do it for you.
Well, here was a chance for Queensland wineries to put their efforts in front of a group of writers from around the country (including someone like Tony Love who has his work syndicated throughout almost every State) and also Lisa Perotti-Brown, one of the most important critics in the business, through her association with Robert Parker and the Wine Advocate. A good review from her, in particular, would have done wonders for that winery and for Queensland wines in general. I am assured that the invitation went out to all Queensland wineries, though as I noted, I was not involved with that.
Eight wineries responded. Eight. Seriously?
I know that there are plenty of wineries not interested as they just make wine to sell to tourists and passing customers – fair enough – and others may not have had stock (the wonderfully admirable Boireann, as an example, makes tiny quantities of wines that are highly sought after). But Lord help the next winery that bitches about not getting support from the wine media. Here was a golden opportunity just blown by so many local producers. It was unfortunate that on the day, those that did make the effort didn't shine but that happens.
All in all, a most disappointing tasting in so many ways.
Article by Ken Gargett
© 2013 Spitbucket
Comments (2)
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Replykbg | 11 Months ago
the name was there from the beginning - can't do much more than that.
and may i say, while i understand that it seems to be the done thing to use concocted names on forums, including this one, it is a bit rich to (incorrectly) bag me for no name while hiding behind your own anonimity (even if i know who you are), in particular making some of the most ludicrous statements imaginable. retribution from local wineries? seriously? i think you might have seen 'the godfather' once too many times.
as for saying so, i really thought i did.
and for the rest of your nonsense, in all the years i have known you, that just might take the cake.
3103JK | 11 Months ago
...no attribution/identification of the author ! Is this deliberate ? Or, is the writer so much a 'Queenslander', she/he is unable to disclose their identity for fear of retribution by the local wine makers...
If the wines were so bad, say so without fear. Perhaps there should be more identifying of DNPIM product universally, so the sunshine state writer's cringe is nothing more than completely misplaced loyalty to woeful wine.
Cheers
@3103JK The author's name is mentioned at the bottom of the article, in regards to QLD wine, can't comment as I haven't had any.
Elie | 11 Months ago
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