Avalon Fine Wine and Food, a Sydney retailer that does not maintain a web site, sends as a weekly e-mail to subscribers advertising their latest specials and deals.

 

In this week's e-mail is the following text

 

“Whinging Retailers please note:  I plan a lot of my own deals and finance them myself.  Could you please concentrate on running your own businesses and just get on with it.

 

Also people that run wine websites and chat rooms, I would appreciate it if you would not advertise my newsletter prices on your website.

 

Also, cherry pickers if you find yourself missing out on wines it is probably because you are an obvious cherry picker”

 

Whilst I can understand some retailers get upset from time to time when other retailers are selling wine at low prices, the vast majority of larger retailers do discount some lines and engage in special promotions; so why Avalon thinks they are Robinson Crusoe in this regard is beyond my comprehension. More importantly, why would they even demean themselves with the sort of public comment?

 

If it has been designed because Avalon wants their customers to think their deals are so good that the competitors are complaining it may be a smart move, despite the fact that those who compare prices will understand that this is nothing more than marketing ploy. There prices may be good on some lines, but they are “me too” on many others.

 

As far as reproducing some of their newsletter prices, as a majority of them are in published in newspaper, the information is certainly not confidential, or in breach of copyright. Perhaps Avalon has so much business they don't need new customers. But if that is the case, one can only wonder why they spend all that money advertising in the Sydney Morning Herald Good Living Section most Tuesdays in the first place.

 

As far as the dummy spit regarding “cherry picking” is concerned cherry pickers are customers too, and if the retailer doesn't want to sell the wines, then why advertise them, especially in the papers. Sure, the odd select few wines are exclusive to the e-mail newsletter, rewarding regular customers with scarce allocation, sand may not advertised in the SMH which is fair enough, but this attitude will be seen as offensive by some regular customers, and rightly so.

 

One final point, “fine wines are like buses” - if you miss one there will be another one in another five minutes that will be happy to take your money. As for retailers, whilst the peninsula in Sydney may be a wealthy area, there are other fine wine shops in Sydney that will welcome customers with open arms without the height of arrogance expressed in this email.

 

So I guess the following wines I have purchased from them recently, many of which were in dozen lots, (plus others) makes me a cherry picker too.

Charles Melton	2002	Shiraz
Coldstream Hills (VIC)	2000	Reserve Cabernet
Hollick (SA)	2001	Cabernet
Katnook Estate	2001	Cabernet
Majella (SA)	2001	Cabernet
Majella (SA)	2001	Shiraz
Mitchelton Wines (VIC)	1999	Print Shiraz
Moss Wood (WA)	2000	Cabernet
Plantagenet	2001	Shiraz
Primo Estate		Sparkling Shiraz
Thorn-Clarke	2001	Cabernet Blend
Vasse Felix (WA)	2000	Cabernet Blend
Wirra Wirra	2002	RSW Shiraz
Wynns Coonawarra	1999	John Riddoch Cabernet

 I am confident that all of these were advertised in the SMH newspaper too, so if this retailer doesn’t want to sell his fines wines to people and have them bitching because they miss out, the answer is simple; don’t advertise them.

 

Guess where I won’t be shopping in future. The other fine wine specialist retailers like Auswine, Boccaccio Cellars, Cloudwine and 60 Darling Street (amongst others) that I deal with will be happy to have the extra business.

The wine silly season is about to descend on us. Judging is taking place at the Royal Melbourne Wine Show and on Thursday 11th, the results of the Jimmy Watson Trophy will be announced. Any thinking individual that understands the facts will know that the JWT is the most asinine and over-rated wine trophy in Australia today. For those that don't know, the wine is awarded to the best one-year old red wine in the show; sounds fair enough doesn't it? On the surface it does but then you need to consider many of the wines judged in this category are unfinished and work in progress.

 

A high percentage of quality red wine spends more than twelve months in oak and everyone that falls into this category is basically unfinished. In some cases, the wines entered into the show are nothing more than barrel samples from wine that has not even been blended yet. Now I'm not accusing any of the wine companies of being dishonest, but any thinking person will realise the system is open to manipulation as there are no checks and balances. There is absolutely nothing stopping the winery selecting small samples from the best barrels, blending a non-representative batch and submitting the wine into the show.

 

Given the importance of this trophy, and the amount of wine it winds up selling, if anything the basis under which this trophy is awarded actually encourages unethical practices. Tricked up samples can and do happen, a number of well respected journalists have written articles on the subject; I know for a fact it has happened to me, and a number of years ago McGuigan winery was caught out in a well-publicised case.

 

As Campbell Mattinson of Winefront Monthly said recently “It's really only winemakers who care about show results. In general, with some small scale exceptions, the wine drinking public doesn't give two hoots about wine show results. So what happens in Melbourne is largely immaterial. The Melbourne show has always been a joke. So there'll be no real surprise when it is again this year. But then again, I don't believe in the show system at all - and I can't see that I ever will.”

 

In reality, the major reason wine shows are important to the wine industry is that medals on bottles sell wine; it's that simple.

A film critical I am not, but after having finally watched a DVD copy of what has rapidly become a cult wine lovers movie, and as contentious as they will probably be seen, some comments were worthy of being made.

 

If you haven't seen the movie, it's a story about two guys who decide to spend a week in a "male bonding exercise" prior to one of them being married. Jack, the guy who is about to be married is basically out to have a final fling and “shag anything that moves.” Miles, the other guy is a typical wine tragic, as well as being an insecure, rejected author; and full-time school teacher. If you have ever seen the original “Odd Couple” TV series, imagine Felix with a wine fetish and Oscar with “Shane Warne Syndrome” and you will be pretty close to the mark.

 

The movie has a lot going for it; it is entertaining, sad, and philosophical; has its funny moments, as well as the usual amounts of gratuitous sex and (not enough) violence. It also has some deep and meaningful moments as two friends share some difficult experiences.

 

And then, of course, there is the wine. Miles credibly portrays a ‘Pinot-o-file’ whilst Jack credibly plays a ‘piss pot’ out to have a good time. One of our heroines, Stephanie is studying for a master’s degree in horticulture (the film did not use the term viticulture) and at one point, Miles asks her if she is going to use her qualifications to work in the vineyards. It's only a small point, but it is a pity the producers didn't know the difference between a horticulturalist and a viticulturalist.

 

However that is an extremely minor criticism, in what is an enjoyable movie. My criticism is not aimed the producers or directors of the movie, it's aimed at the fans. Apparently the film has spawned an industry and change in the wine drinking habits of a number of Americans. Many of the Merlot drinkers have been switching to Pinot Noir as a result of the movie. In many ways this is understandable, as the movie has essentially broaden their wine horizons and they are looking to see if they can capture “some of the magic in the bottle” that Miles was banging on about.

 

What I cannot understand are the hordes of people, or should that be sheep, who are so enamoured with the movie, that they are obtaining maps of the places that the two stars visited in the movie, and are faithfully reproducing their steps. As Rolf Binder of Veritas wines has been known to say, “These people should find the ‘Life Shop’ and buy one!”

 

I honestly don't know what's worse, the “wine tragic” portrayed in the film, the shallow character of “good-time Jack” or the people who are following in someone else's footsteps whilst trying to relive someone else's experiences second-hand. The mind boggles.

 

If you are the other wine lover that hasn't seen it, it is worth hiring the video or DVD.