More on that very sensitive subject –

It seems that I am not alone in my comments relating to some of the lower cost OZ wines. By chance toady I read an article written by Tim Atkins in The Observer in the UK dated Sunday 21 October, which was published after my Journal peace on plastic and manufactured wine had been submitted to Winestar. The article (in part read)

“Australia has had a very smooth ride from the British press over the past decade. Some of my colleagues appear to put their critical faculties in a deep freeze when they taste its wines. The Old World is lambasted for being lazy, corrupt and out of touch. But all too often Australia escapes censure.

It must be said that, in the past, there wasn't much to be critical about. Over the last 10 years, Australia has played a key role in remoulding the modern wine scene, providing wines that combine flavour and concentration with value for money. In some ways, I am a child of the Australian wine revolution. I love the place, I love the people and I love their no-bullshit approach to wine.

So why do I feel the need to put the boot in now? The answer is that Australia has begun to let us down. Like a spurned lover, I have begun to notice the flaws in the object of my affections. Not so long ago, I looked forward to tasting a line-up of basic Australian wines. These days, I approach them with a mixture of boredom and distaste. All too often, the whites are bland and unexciting, while the reds, if anything, are worse: confected, sweet and over-oaked. There are exceptions, but they are as rare as jokes in a Gordon Brown budget speech.

Things aren't that much better further up the scale. Wines that used to cost £4.99 now sell at £5.99 with no appreciable improvement in quality. Once reliable wines in the £5-£8 bracket (the territory Australia used to dominate with ease) have begun to lose their appeal. (Rosemount is particularly culpable here.) And the so-called fine wines are pricing themselves out of the market.

The Australian wine industry has been, and continues to be, plundered by drink multi-nationals that are obsessed with short-term gain. Australian brands - the very wines that once offered tremendous value for consumers - are being milked for profit.

The scenario may not be quite as bleak as I've suggested, but I think people have begun to wake up and smell the oak chips. Six months ago, Australia was poised to overtake France as the leading supplier to the UK. Since then, it has slipped back like a tired cyclist. Australia has the winemaking talent, the vineyards and the know-how to return to the front of the pack. But it needs to concentrate on what it does best - making wines that we actively want to drink.”

Whilst I don’t need a journalist in the UK to support my comments, it is still sting to note that this wine journo was also writing about the decline in low end wine quality, oak chips, the coincidental mention of Rosemount wines, the large company short term profit driven mentality; all of these points that I have made in recent times. This is an informed outsiders opinion looking in, and if Tim is writing it, lots of UK consumers will be agreeing with him and voting with their wallet.

There is no doubt this is a divisive issue, and one that people obviously feel very strongly about, but it is important that we don’t loose site of the fact that these comments relate to some wine and some wine companies, but that does not mean all wine and all wine companies. There are still loads of good stuff out there, all you have to do is find it.

Keep drinking