THERE ARE two things that Australians take offence to: one is that the northern hemisphere still considers the southern to be less of a hemisphere—and this has nothing to do with the shape. The other problem is that nobody can think of Australia without trying to pitch in their favourite kangaroo or sheep joke. Oh wait, the sheep joke is an ‘honour’ reserved for the Kiwis.
With wines, the same attitude carries over. Just about anything coming from Down Under is considered a safe value-for-money quaffer that should only adorn supermarket shelves and must imperatively be drunk within 24 hours of being purchased. Any talk of vintage is to be disregarded, even smirked at.
But in spite of these stereotypes, the Aussies are still not the ones who have it the worst. Chile and Argentina were treated horribly till a few blind tastings helped establish their potential—that and direct investments from hoards of European wine stalwarts, who showed interest in the vast stretches of precious virgin land in both these countries.
But back to our cricketing nemesis. Australia, too, has made tremendous progress when it comes to establishing itself as a flavour force to reckon with. Australians are already challenging Italians in the coffee department and the French and Californians in wines.
This was only further reinstated when Richard Dolan, CEO, Geoff Hardy wines, brought some of his South Australian wines to India to give us a taste of his very exquisite single-vineyard produce. It couldn’t have been an easy task because few people (even the ones in the industry) associate Australia with high-end low-volume exploits and, more pertinently, the (Thomas) Hardy’s brand is already established in India—unfortunately, mostly with entry-level variants—further adding to the confusion.
For clarification sake, Geoff Hardy does belong to the original clan, but, for various reasons, had to walk away and establish his eponymous winery. The focus was clear: to preserve quality and make wines with distinction and character. Mind you, this was the Nineties and Australia was obsessed with bulk, so anything boutique would have been considered downright unsustainable. Even the domestic market would have thought their own South Australian land unworthy of such efforts.
But Dolan (also the son-in-law of the exuberant founder) recently showed us exactly this aspect of his wines: distinction and character. It was a good decision to not bring his flagship produce, focusing on the quality and variety that is the terroir of the state. The tasting served two fine purposes: introducing Geoff Hardy to India and stressing the relevance of South Australia to the country’s wine diaspora. It was quite a success, with an overwhelming response from the media and industry as well. Of course, everyone wanted to know the price (they weren’t expensive) and the quantity (barely a thousand cases annually), which only further added to the appeal factor. With one well-placed tasting, the state of South Australia was able to show that not all wines are about bulk production and even a country with as young a wine culture as theirs can rise to the occasion and deliver stunning quality. As for terroir, every site has its own and, in that sense, all are unique. What it boils down to then is how winemakers take what nature gives them and distill it through their apparatus of experience to yield forth the best seamless expression of both land and man. Yes, so much for what we try to ‘demystify’ as a simple fermented beverage.
Meanwhile, Indians deserve a pat on the back for
(a) being rightly curious without any bias towards a young country’s wines; and (b) not being prejudiced against quality wines coming with screw caps.
The writer is a sommelier
