Gap in the knowledge

Over the past year I have attempted to cultivate a sense of gratitude for all that I have and the good things that come into my life. Along with this positive energy one is to be grateful for things that do not go ones way, for it is an opportunity to learn something and be set back on the right path. Clearly the latter is more difficult to do, however, it was something I have been taught, and as a dutiful student I have attempted to embody this way of thinking. You may wonder why on earth I am talking about Buddhist practices when this blog is dedicated to wine, but this very thought is from where I bring you my blog this week.

As the story would go, last Wednesday evening I was invited to meet a well-known wine industry personality Stuart Gregor founder and CEO of an alcohol and lifestyle PR firm Liquid Ideas. As you can imagine with my passion for wine, I was giddy with excitement. Liquid Ideas manages the PR for wine industry monster Treasury Wine Estate and such brands as Taylors and Wolf Blass. 

Obviously I was keen to impress with all the research that I have been doing. Including regions and varieties, climate as a determinate for the grape selection and the winemakers impact on the wine. No doubt he was going to discuss tricky topics like the main varieties grown in Alsace France and the noble white varieties, so I polished up on my homework and made my way to Liquid Ideas.

Stuart was friendly and jovial when he invited me in for a chat and to ask why I was interested in the wine industry. I gushed about my passion for the industry and how Australia was particularly ahead of the game in its ability to blend traditional varieties to make new and interesting wines that are impressing the world over. 

"Oh really" he said, "very good, tell me five wineries that are doing interesting things", 

"Ahhh..." gulp! My eyes widened as I frantically searched for anything I had read in gosh, what's that wine magazines name... Gourmet wine? No...

"Ahhh..." sudden flash of brilliance, "off the top of my head I can't recall as I have been doing a lot of reading. Actually the trend in the market is actually toward boutiques and aspirational wine which is what I have really been focusing my attention to", big teethy smile, Phew!

"Great" says Stuart, clearly not totally impressed, but not dismissive either "so, give me the names of five of your favourite Australian boutique wineries"

Crap, crap, crap! I hold the teethy grin, which becomes somewhat strained as I completely rack my brain to try and think of something, ANYTHING! But nothing comes...

"Ahhh... Off the top of my head..." There is no need to finish the sentence as the opportunity to shine has passed. Where had my brilliance disappeared to in the time of need?

"Well, your are clearly enthusiastic, which is great." He smiles whilst rubbing his head thinking, 

"Steep learning curve though I am thinking!"

The conversation continued and luckily my charm and luck didn't see me booted out the door immediately. I did however leave with a feeling of gratitude. You don't know what you don't know until somebody points it out. I set off on my merry way with a whole new list of topics to learn.

The first place that I thought I would go to find out who were the leading Australian wine producers was Google. When searching for premium wines I came across Investment grade wines. There is an index called the Langton’s Classification of Australian Wine Index (LCAWI). This index tracks 28 of the leading Australian wine producers over time in five exceptional vintages. I thought this would be a good place to start learning about Australian wine.

You can check out the index at http://www.langtons.com.au/tools/wineindex.aspx

Some of the top producers listed include:

Penfolds, Bass, Cullen, Henschke, Leeuwin Estate, Moss Wood, Mount Mary and Rockford.

Hmmm... I can see this might take awhile. Until next time, have a glass for me. Alex Mac.


www.liquidideas.com.au