Articles
Sydney Time
Copyright © Ric Einstein 2008
Links to Past Articles - 2006 2004 2003 2002 2001
Past Articles from 2005
Recently there has been much debate about the merits of tasting wines openly versus tasting wines blind. How much influence is there from the label? Should professionals taste blind, and what are the advantages and disadvantages of open versus blind tasting? This article answers all these questions and more.
Spittoons at Twenty Paces
- Halliday and Parker spit it out
The fight of the Heavy Weight Titans - the Australian Heavyweight Wine Champion takes on the World Champ, Robert Parker Junior in a no spitting barred contest; and if you expected things to get messy in a fight like this, you won't be disappointed; they do! This story looks at more than the fight form, in a no holds barred approach, it analyses the moves, the strategy and the soundness of the each fighters punches.
Whilst many wine lovers will debate the merits of decanting wine, I am a firm believer in decanting wine. Most people will be familiar with the need to decant older wine to remove sediment but it can and is useful for other reasons. Find out why in this brief article.
The title of this article should just about say it all. This story briefly details the individual roads and byways that both Brian and I have both travelled during our wine journeys. It covers everything from the early days of our wine experiences and progresses through to where we find ourselves today. The story will explain why and how we have developed our palates. The contents may surprise some people and will hopefully remove some of the fiction about our palate choices and experiences. It can be found here.
Reaction to the Latest Australian Edition of Parker’s Wine Advocate and more
Last weeks article, "Dissecting Parkers 2005 Australian Edition" certainly caused a reaction. Before the story had officially gone public, it was the catalyst for a lengthily thread on the Mark Squires Forum which is hosted on Parkers own web site. Reaction and feeling were running hot; to say the least! As a result of both my story and comments on other bulletin boards, especially the Australian ones, things did not cool down and whilst debate has been about these topics have "locked" on Squires Forum, as long as Parker is the world most influential wine critic, his work will cause heated debate. The whole story can be found here.
Publication Review: Parker - The Wine Advocate Issue 161 - Australia
Robert Parker is the most influence person in the wine world today and his influence now extends to Australian and Australian wine. Issue 161 of The Wine Advocate devotes forty five pages to the wines from down under and the release of this edition, like ever other one, was eagerly awaited. The wineries who submitted wine were all hoping for big scores, and the US wine consumers that love Oz wine had their skates on, ready to rollout and snap up the high pointed wines and best value deals before were all sold out. This story takes a "full-throttle, amazingly intense, super-concentrated" critical look at Parkers work; his list of 952 Recommended wines, the comments he makes, and it puts his stylistic preferences into perspective. "Dissecting Parkers 2005 Australian Edition" can be found here.
Book Review: The Australian Wine Annual 2006
(Nov 3)
Jeremy Oliver; those interested in wine either love his work or hate it; there seems to be no middle ground with this guy. When I started writing my review of the just released Wine Annual, there was no intention of covering why Jeremy engenders such emotions; but as it is topical and it just evolved as an integral part of this article, it has been included. Read all about the latest wine annual as well as reasons of the controversy.
(Oct 27)
Recently Huon Hook, in response to a question about the WA wine show, where he was chairman of judges said, "...there was (also) a lot of crook wine, a lot of Brett - in some classes, 25 -- 30% of the wines were Brett-affected." Based on my experience, to make matters worse, that is not the only problem, many smaller wineries are at risk of going out the back door unless they start to clean up their act and start getting it right.
(Oct 20)
A winemaker emailed me lamenting the poor showing of one of his wines in a local wine show. He also expressed his shock at some of the wines that were awarded medals and asked for my opinion as to how and why this happens. The situation was interesting enough for the response to become an article.
Every Wondered Why? (Oct 6)
Sometimes your favourite wine is virtually never on special anywhere in Australia and some other wines are always "on sale." This article examines Retail Price Maintenance and, as a secondary issue, how the current state of retailing in Australia is intertwined in this situation.
The A to Z of Wine Forums (Sept 29)
On the positive side, Wine Forums offer a tremendous learning opportunity; they can be an incredible amount of fun, lifelong friendships are forged, but they can be massive time wasters too. These forums, which are located all over the world, can offer something for every taste and experience level. This article cover the strengths, weaknesses and characteristics of many of the sites.
Wine or Whine Forums and the Internet (Sept 22)
For a moment, just imagine that you were in the wine business and had never visited a wine forum, and did so for the first time. What do you think your reaction would be and why? Do wine forums have credibility or are they just Whine Forums? This is the first of a two-part series that examines the general nature and credibility of wine forums. The second part (next week) will look at the nature of each forum itself.
That Old Hoary Chestnut Again (Sept 15)
Those of you who are familiar with the old Castrol advertisement "oils ain't oils" will understand that whilst two things that may look the same on the surface, they don't necessarily work the same way, or have the same properties. Such is the Hundred Point System made famous by Robert Parker. This short article tracks the evolution of the hundred point system within Australia and exposes its inconsistencies and shortcomings, as well as a whole lot more.
Terroir – a Dirty Four Letter Word (Sept 8)
One of the most fundamental arguments that will always erupt between Old World and New World wine lovers is the importance of terroir. The former will tell you that fine wine is all about terroir whilst the latter will claim fruit quality is the most important aspect. But what about New World single vineyard wines, what role does terroir play in their quality, and on the opposite side of the same token, what about a blended wines from the old world; which part to this fruit quality play in those wines?
Old is New (Aug 30)
Australia has been incredibly successful in the wine export business but as time goes on, the old world players are learning from their mistakes and our leadership in the vital UK market will be threatened by both old world and emerging new world players. The lucrative US market is not without its challenges either, and if the Australian domestic wine industry is to survive and grow, those challenges need to be met. This article explores the current situation and the challenges producers face in these two areas.
Feature Winery Review - Lake George Winery (Aug 18)
Normally I am not a huge fan of Pinot or cool climate wineries so when a box of samples from the Canberra region arrived I was not particularly looking forward to wading through the wines, but there turned out to be some gems here and I even wound up "drinking" some of the samples; most unusual!
Book Review: Review of Halliday 2006 Wine Companion (Aug 18)
In the second of a two part series, the work of Australia's most respected wine critic is reviewed; specifically Halliday's 2006 Wine Companion. This looks at more than the book, it delves right into the bowels of Halliday's work, how it has probably been compiled; and examines its usefulness as well as its weaknesses. If you read Halliday's work or have the remotest interest in Australian wine, this is required reading.
Has Halliday Lost the Plot (Aug 10)
This is the first of a two part story which has come about because of the release Halliday's latest wine companion. James Halliday is certainly Australia's most prolific wine reviewer; highly respected and deservedly so, but is the biggest the best and has he lost the plot? You be the judge!
As is now tradition, the May Tour Diaries will be kicked off with the latest vintage report. This article takes a macro view of the vintage conditions over the last few years as it provides a ‘big picture’ perspective that can be kept in the back of your mind when making purchasing decisions. The information will also be very helpful when reading the up coming 2005 South Australian Tour Diary.
Featured Winery - Hobbs Part Two - A rising star
Earlier this years I wrote a review on this winery but only half of it was published at the time. The winery will be become best known for its two, ultra top-shelf Shiraz wines but they were not reviewed in the first story. This second section explains why and includes the rest of the story. Read about this winery and get in on the ground floor on a winery that will be highly sought after.
After writing a Drops 'n Dregs snippet called "It's getting harder out there" I received a couple of interesting phone calls which threw an entirely different perspective on the future of wine retailing. Telephone wine selling is here to stay and will increase in both intensity and frequency which will probably impact on traditional retail channels. Indeed, we live in interesting times.
Growers are of critical importance to the wine industry because without them, we would not have wine. The health of their market segment in many ways is a barometer of the financial health of the whole industry. This story has been brewing for sometime in my grey matter and will be the first in a series. It sets the macro scene of the problems facing growers in today's world and the picture is far from rosy.
Featured Winery - Fox Gordon - A name to watch
Another new winery worth keeping an eye out for; the wines are well constructed and classy. The story behind the winery is a little different too. Wine names are quirky but who cares, what's in the bottle is worth drinking.
Well, its finally happened. On Friday 22 April the Board of Southcorp recommended the acceptance of an offer of $4.26 per share from Fosters. As a result, the face of Australian wine has irrevocably changed, and for serious wine lovers and many in the industry, its not for the better. In reality, there will be very few short term winners and countless people who will be hurt by this takeover. This is a must read story which predicts the likely impact and future.
This weeks article may be seen as contentious. It poses a question for readers to consider; is it reasonable for well known winemakers or winery owners to openly make negative or derogatory comments about other wines, winemakers or wineries? This article provides some illustrations for readers to consider and then, as always they can make up their own minds about the ethics.
You invite six friends, all reputedly with good palates and cellars, asking them to bring their best Bordeaux wines or the pinnacle of Australian Cabernet. Any half smart minded person would think that would make for a night of sublime wine tasting and the "aficionados" would no doubt predict that the Bordeaux wines would blitz the Oz pretenders in a no contest result. Well, they would be dead wrong on all counts. Is the chases worth the effort and are the $$$ well spent; you be the judge when you read the tasting notes from this extraordinary event.
Marketing hype or the best wine you are going to drink? That is the question that should be posed when you see wines that have been awarded "best in the world" or "wine of the year" etc. The more I see these awards the more I understand how useless they really are and to make matters worse, many in the industry milk them for all they are worth which just devalues the awards even further.
Featured Winery - I don't have a Foggo
This is not the usual story about a long time grower who decided to become a winery but it does have similar traits. This is a story about an established vineyard that changed hands in 1999, and the new owners who are second generation industry people, decided to "do their own thing" and what they are doing is good! This is a a winery that is producing "good stuff" at honest prices, a perfect recipe for the true wine lover.
Featured Winery - And I Thought Hobbs Was About Stoves Part One
But it's not stoves, its "Hobbs of the Barossa Ranges" -a micro boutique winery with a very unusual product range. Two ultra premium Shiraz with over $100 price tags and four dessert wines which are made in a very unusual style; read the story and the tasting notes.
The title says it all, read the highlight and low lights of the past year including lists of where both my and Red Bigots (Brian's) money went during the year.