“Natalie Decants” a bottle of plonk

“Natalie Decants” a bottle of plonk (29 October)

For those wine lovers that don't know her, Natalie MacLaine is a prolific Canadian journalist who is an absolute master at self-promotion. As well as writing a free regular newsletter, her articles have appeared in a number of Australian newspapers from time to time. No doubt, they appear in many newspapers all over the world.

The editorial in her latest newsletter is headed “Is Down Under Still On Top?” and starts off by stating, “This article on Australia is bound to stir up some controversy... and that's part of my job.”

Having read the article a number of times, I can only wonder if Natalie is trying to stir up controversy to gain publicity. Virtually everything contained in this newsletter has been said before, much of it on TORBWine and/or the wine forums. Most of the facts stated in the article are true, but some of the inferences and conclusions are not necessarily correct, and that is what I will address.

The article starts off dealing with the incredible success and enviable reputation that Australian wines have achieved in North America recently.

The story then goes on to state, “Lately, though, there's been some grumbling, from both the wine press and consumers, about the style of Australian wine. Critics claim that producers there have oversimplified the product with a bold, fruity taste and alcohol levels that could knock out a kangaroo. They may suit drinkers in transition from alcopops, but they're hardly appetizing to wine lovers who prefer something more nuanced to sip throughout an evening or to accompany their meal.”

I can't make up my mind whether this is some of the most condescending wine journalism I have ever seen, or nothing more than blatant OZ wine bashing. Whilst I don't particularly care for the mass produced wines that fall into this category, that is not the point; millions of people around the world do enjoy these entry-level, “bold, fruity” wines and that is exactly why they have been so successful and is one of the reasons why the sale of low end of French wine has dropped.

As far as the increase in alcohol level is concerned, this increase is not restricted to Australia, most warm climate, New World wines are in exactly the same boat. The difference in alcoholic content between a wine at 13 percent alcohol and 15 percent alcohol is a total increase in alcohol of 15 percent. Or to put it another way if you drink three glasses of wine at 15 percent alcohol, you will have consumed the equivalent of less than an extra half a glass of wine (alcohol content) over the lower alcohol wine. Put in that perspective, that is not a huge amount.

So, the next question is does Natalie agree with the “grumblings in the press” or not. Natalie then goes on to state, “In fact, as a professional taster, I find it increasingly difficult to tell the difference between one shiraz and another, or even to identify which region it comes from. I can't imagine that happening with French wines: I have yet to confuse a bordeaux with a beaujolais, for example….. The French are also starting to create wines that are less austere, with more fruit character, but they're still not losing sight of regionality and balance—qualities I feel are rarer in Australian wines. These days, drinking French reminds me of a leisurely Sunday afternoon stroll; quaffing Australian is a punishing marathon for the mouth.”

That paragraph is very cunningly worded, but doesn't tell the real story. As far as Natalie “not confusing the Bordeaux with a Baujolais,” I don't think I have confused Australian Pinot Noir with Australian Cabernet Sauvignon too often either, because essentially, that's what it's all about. I'm willing to bet that on many occasions, like 99.9 percent of wine lovers (official statistical lie) Natalie has been just as confused by different Cabernet blends that come from Bordeaux, as I have been about different Shiraz that comes from different parts of Australia.

I don't disagree that many Australian Shiraz, particularly those made to a formula, (or at the low mass produced end) taste similar, but that is a vast generality, and in the continent the size of Australia, which is the equivalent of France and Italy together, there is a huge diversity in wine styles across the continent. Shiraz from the Yarra Valley, certainly does not taste the same as Shiraz from the Barossa. On my recent trip to South Australia, at one particular establishment I tried about 15 different wines from McLaren Vale. The differences between these wines were pronounced; none of them were “formula” wines and whilst they may have been 15 percent alcohol, many of them were still food friendly and some of them even showed a modicum of elegance.

In terms of “French wine being a Sunday afternoon stroll, versus Australian wine pushing for a marathon,” if the wines are not your style, don't drink them. Everyone is entitled to enjoy their preferred wine style, and no journalist should tell people what they should or should not be enjoying. I could imagine the outcry if a professional new world wine critic wrote something like “I find most French wine to be lacking in fruit flavour and boring.” The Francophiles would be screaming from the rooftops.

Natalie unintentionally then hits the nail on the head, when she states, “After all, simplicity isn't always best. Many French wines are still the gold standard for excellence, despite the confusing array of 467 appellations (wine regions). The range of styles can keep curious wine lovers busy for a lifetime.”

The reason I stated that she “unintentionally” hit the nail on the head, is because this is where Australian marketing, has failed miserably. We may not have 467 wine regions, but we certainly do have a lot of them, and unfortunately “brand Australia” has been marketed as “sunshine in a bottle” at the low-end, and at the high end, the industry has been hooked on points, rather than marketing the attributes of the wines and the regions. And the wines in the middle; well many of them are in trouble in the export segment, but those that have been marketed properly, are surviving.

Natalie then states, “Of course, France also makes bad wines too, as well as merely mass-produced, homogenous ones, such as Fortant de France and Mouton Cadet. However, these are a relatively small proportion of the country's total output compared to the big brands of Australia, which make up the bulk of that country's production: Jacob's Creek, Nottage Hill, Banrock Station, Lindemans, Hardy's Stamp and Wolf Blass. In fact, the top four conglomerates—Southcorp, the Hardy Wine Company, Beringer Blass and Orlando—produce almost 70% of the country's wine.”

Whilst there is some truth in this, I would counter with a couple of points. In terms of “bad wine” I would have thought that as a proportion, Australia probably made less of it, than France. Whilst Australia does make a loss of mass-produced homogenous wine, at least it is drinkable, and that is precisely why it has been so successful in export markets. However, having drunk my fair share of “village wines” in France, as well as those sold in carafes in local restaurants, all I can say is, no wonder so many people put ice cubes in them.

Later, Natalie then goes on to state, “Partly, the lack of regional variation has to do with Australia's climate. Some 60% of its premium grapes and 100% of its bulk varieties are grown in the inland Riverina and Riverland regions, where desert-like temperatures bake any character out of the grapes. And when winemakers allow grapes to hang so long on the vine, it's like burning your dinner night after night: it doesn't matter if it's chicken, steak or pork. Australia also doesn't have the climatic differences of France and other European regions, which help those countries create varied wine styles.”

Where do I begin with this? As far as the Riverina and Riverland regions are concerned, this area which is obviously so terrible, is now responsible for selling the singularly most popular imported wine sold in the USA; Yellow Tail. Obviously all those consumers are buying Yellow Tail are wrong. And for the record, according to the Casella Family (who own Yellow Tail), their one brand sells more wine to the US than all of France combined.

As far as the statement that Australia doesn't have the climatic differences of France (as far as winemaking is concerned) what a load of rot. Perhaps Natalie should tour Australia and visit the wine regions of Tasmania, the ACT, and the Southern Highlands of New South Wales, not to mention Margaret Rive (and points south) which will show how ridiculous the statement is; admittedly some of these areas are new and not producing great wine, but nevertheless, they are wine regions and show the incredible diversity of wine growing climate inAustralia.
Natalie then states, “Big brands also establish a country's reputation in the world market and produce enough volume to attract the big liquor store chains. They generate the money to invest in smaller, higher quality products, which do more to enhance the country's reputation. The trouble is, many of those wonderful, artisanal wines aren't available outside Australia. They tend to be consumed locally, or arrive in North America in such small quantities that restaurants snap them up first.”

At the low end, there is no doubt that the big brands establish the reputation but as far as local producers are concerned, they do not, I repeat that they do not, “generate the money to invest in smaller high-quality products”. The majority of the smaller, high-quality products are produced by small wineries, not Foster's, Lion Nathan, Orlando and the like. The problem is not “the availability of the wonderful Artisan wines outside of Australia,” as Natalie states, there are many of these wines available in North America; the real problem is Australia's lack of ability to market these wines properly.

Natalie then states, “Another change is that the Australian government is now giving wineries rebates for surplus production—a move that reflects the traditional French government subsidies.”

Interesting comment, that's news to me, and I would like to know the source of that statement, as I have seen nothing in the local press stating that the government was giving rebates to wineries for surplus production in Australia.

In the final paragraph, Natalie states, “Australia does have a fighting chance of winning this battle. In particular, there are a number of cool climates from which some of the most distinctive wines are emerging: crisp Clare Valley riesling, earthy Tasmanian pinot, spicy Adelaide Hills shiraz and structured Coonawarra cabernet. The challenge now is for Australian winemakers to focus down rather than up, thrusting their roots deeper into the soils where their tall poppies grow.”

Hang on a second, this paragraph is in direct contradiction of a number of things stated above. For example, spicy Adelaide Hills Shiraz does not taste the same as Barossa Shiraz. Tasmania has been recognised as an area that has the climate that is required to grow Pinot reasonably well.

Australia has been concentrating on marketing their tall poppies; the problem is they have gone about it in completely the wrong manner by relying on points, rather than pushing the inherent qualities and differences between many of our top wines.

Most of the facts in Natalie’s article are true, but it is not a controversial article; whilst on one hand professing to like Australian wines, on the other there is a fair amount of Oz bashing (a minor amount of which is deserved, but much of which is not). Basically, the article could have been better balanced; there is a difference between creating positive controversial debate and negative bashing. It should be noted that this response has not been written with an intention of defending the Australian industry, far from it, I am frequently critical of it; it has been written to present a more balanced perspective of some of the points in Natalie’s original article.

Feel free to submit your comments!

From: Grant Dodd

10/31/2006 17:36:32 Poorly researched and poorly thought out. Personal opinion posing as fact. If this sort of bandwagon jumping is what qualifies as award winning journalism then wine writing is in a bad way.

Like Ric, I would be interested to hear about the govt subsidies for excess production. I guess that would the reason why many growers left their fruit on the vines this year....?

Yes there are bad wines from Australia, like any wine growing country in the world, but there is real diversity of style here if one is prepared to look. Its not worth going through the article and pointing out all the holes and generalisations ; there is an air of grandstanding about this.

From: Murray NZ

11/01/2006 15:38:57 Gidday Ric,

Well, you have got your knickers in a knot mate!

As with all articles like this, the author deals in polemics - and canning the local wine (read national wine in this case), is the aim. The article therefore has sufficient facts sewn through it, facts which are undeniable - that the 'truth' of the writer's statements is enhanced.

Marlborough has enough of this Tall-poppyism to deal with too. Recently a group of wine-writers came through (at our promotional expense) and canned the last harvest unmercifully. Much of what they said I actually support - but much of what they said was also to generate an interesting article that they would get passed their editors. Just like this one.

There is not much you can do beyond a dignified (and short) rebuttal which of course won't be printed (no controversy).

The single fact remains (as you have illustrated), Australian Shiraz - almost single handedly - has created a huge new market of younger red wine drinkers. It has done this by producing fruit-forward and easy-to-drink wines that show a minimum of wine-faults and done it with a consistency and reliability that none of the 'Old World' regions have bothered to do. Likewise, Marlborough Sauvignon blanc revitalised the white wine world. Both wines are subject to dumbing down because that is the way to make money in a consumer society - and however wine geeks like you and I might bewail the passing of XYZ label and the Levelling of the variations - global branding requirements (driven by the consumer) make this inevitable. The comment on Yellow Tail is exactly right. Though less than exciting- they are what the consumer wants to drink and made at a price that the consumer is happy to pay. Incidentally at 8g/l residual sugar or thereabouts, which again is what the consumer wants.

This article and many like articles in the wine-press the world over are written to give the impression that the writer (and of course the reader), is one of a wine elite. Snobbism - yes - but this too is something that many in the industry go to lengths to foster so that their wine is seen as being above the ordinary. When we (as an industry) do this - attempting to prove that wine isn't just another grocery commodity - we do lay ourselves open to attack.

From: Graeme G

11/02/2006 21:13:01 Ho hum. Not terribly exciting really. A mixture of facts, half truths and generalisations which would leave a newcomer with at least some idea of the general lie of the land but utterly ignorant of the nuances of the situation.

The confusion over the alleged subsidy is probably a botched reference to the WET rebate, which is about money and has nothing to do with grapes directly...
Most of what she says - from a North American - perspective is accurate enough; the best Oz wines leave these shores (if at all) in such tiny quantities that they hardly offset the oceans of cheerful swill for which we became famous.

Wine is a funny consumer good; two near-identical looking items with similar purpose can have a hundred-fold price differential; no wonder it gets caught up in arguments about snobbism and residual sugar and brand image and alcopops and terroir and the rest...

Cheers,
Graeme
PS cleverly avoiding apostrophes - they seem to cause this software to have a meltdown

TORB Comment GG you are dead right about the apostrophes; they screw up the 'system' something terrible. I now go through all posts after they are up with an XML editor and fix the text. The problem is that this software is 'bolt on' and not as good as I would have liked.