Just bad scheduling or a genuine issue with the Sydney wine trade?

August 17, 2018

Just bad scheduling or a genuine issue with the Sydney wine trade?

The Sydney wine trade is a fickle beast.

On the one hand, there is a whole squad of motivated and knowledgeable merchants/somms/etc who crowd out tastings for super cool imports.

But then, for equally fine tastings of cool local wines, it’s like no one cares. Nobody. Sometimes, it’s purely down to timing – a double up between events. But other times, you find yourself in room surrounded by great Australian wines and no one to be seen.

Indeed that was me on Saturday at the Sydney Wine Show Trade & Exhibitors Tasting. There I was, in a giant show hall, with every single entrant to the Royal Sydney Wine Show (2200+ wines and gold medal winning beers) laid out ready to pour.

And less than 30 people in attendance.

Sure, this year the tasting was on a Saturday (rather than the usual pre-WCA lunch Friday morning), and mid-morning on a Saturday too. But still, it’s an event that offers unlimited tastings of 2200 of the best in the land. The finest of the fine. The cream. For free.

And still no one goes.

In fact, people do go, as the trade session is immediately followed by the public tasting, where punters pay $100 a ticket for the same privilege. Unsurprisingly, they get good numbers too. Why not, when you can look at the catalogue of what’s on offer too (have a squizz here)?

But it again begs the question – why the clammering for imports by our wine trade when great wine is on your doorstep? Is it a wine cultural cringe where we believe that Australia doesn’t make interesting wines?

It’s not like this phenomenon is an isolated incident. Trawl through some Sydney wine lists and be amazed at just how much the focus has shifted towards imports. And let’s not get started on how few NSW wines are on NSW wine lists (which the government spent $40,000 trying to address).

I’m keen to hear from winemakers and others in the Sydney wine trade here. Do you think this is a genuine issue or just a missed opportunity?

rants

Andrew Graham was once voted the 23rd most trusted wine critic on the planet. A WCA Journalism Young Gun now old hack with 25yrs as a buyer, judge, journalist, marketer and too much more.

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22 responses to “Just bad scheduling or a genuine issue with the Sydney wine trade?”

Simon Colwell

August 17, 2018 at 10:01 am

I don’t work in the wine trade but I’ll throw in my 2 cents worth. Is it possible that sommeliers etc, to justify their existence and create the perception that they’re adding value, have to recommend & push unheard of wines from overseas rather than local wines e.g. I would assume that most people reading this blog would know of those Wynns wines in the photo above, so if a sommelier recommended one of those wines to any of us would we think “wow, this guy’s great, he really knows his stuff” or would we think “seriously, he’s pushing that ? I can buy that from Dans without his input, this guy brings nothing to the table”. So to counter this perception they lean towards the foreign or obscure. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not having a go at sommeliers, the sommelier at the last restaurant that I went to that had one was great and yes, he recommended an imported wine, and yes, it worked perfectly with what we were eating. Would I have walked away with the same positive perception of his talents though if he had recommended one of those bottles of Wynns ?

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1. Andrew Graham
  
  August 17, 2018 at 10:18 am
  
  A very valid point about somms justifying their existence.
  
  I do wonder if it is just easier for a somm to go with some obscure Georgian white rather than something Australian.
  
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Jules Gutierrez

August 17, 2018 at 10:08 am

Yeah. I think these fashion trends come and go. A decade or two ago we would have been complaining that the only wines getting attention were Parkerised trophies, which of course were largely unsuitable for the meal table.

Now, access to food-friendly wines for restaurant diners is surely better than it has ever been.

Attention paid to mainstream Australian wines (eg in the form of attendance at tastings) by wine influencers may perhaps be lagging, but the other side of the coin is the incredibly exciting landscape of Australian wine we are enjoying right now.

There are plenty of restaurants serving a huge number of cutting edge Australian wines in a very wide variety of styles. The existence of these wines has itself been catalysed by access to a far wider variety (and tastings) of imports, not to mention international travel and work experience of Australian winemakers.

I also wouldn’t discount a certain toxicity associated with wine shows that turns-off some audiences. Just one anecdote: I attended a Somms Australia event a couple of weeks ago, where 40 wines in two brackets were tasted and scored under something approximating wine show conditions. It was a super-interesting (and quite humbling!) tasting. I can’t say whether it was the “wine show” factor that did it, but I reckon the event was under-attended given the sort of tasting experience that was on offer.

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1. Andrew Graham
  
  August 17, 2018 at 10:21 am
  
  Do you think that wine shows are toxic as a whole though?
  
  There’s a serious disconnect between consumer beliefs about wine shows and about how many in the trade view them. It’s a weird love hate relationship.
  
  Reply
  1. Jules
    
    August 18, 2018 at 8:52 pm
    
    I guess by “some audiences” you could say I am referring to the restaurant trade, rather than consumers.
    
    Agree though that consumers see shows in a different way to much of the trade.
    
    I don’t necessarily think shows are toxic as a whole. I’m not sure what their relevance is to much of the trade, nor whether they are actually relevant to consumers. Are they really still there to improve the breed, as Evans et al envisioned? Much of the breed improvement seems to be happening among wines that don’t go near shows.
    
    Be interested in your thoughts mate, given your experience in the system over the last few years. Perhaps over a beer at some point?
    
    Reply
    1. Andrew Graham
      
      August 19, 2018 at 6:58 am
      
      Has been way too long!
      
      Reply
Paul Sadler

August 17, 2018 at 10:34 am

I looked at attending the event, but the location was very unappealing as was it being on a Saturday. I get your points on the above but in my case we try to prioritise Australian and New Zealand wines on my list.

Reply
1. Andrew Graham
  
  August 17, 2018 at 10:40 am
  
  That Saturday time slot well be might be a massive issue.
  
  Reply
Daniel

August 17, 2018 at 1:49 pm

I think with the big shows it’s always the same wines over and over again as a lot of the little Beautique producers just don’t produce enough to justify going in them.
There are a lot of gems floating around NSW at the moment you just have to go out of your way to find them.

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Mickle

August 18, 2018 at 4:52 pm

1. I recall a stat from a WA production report a year or two ago – around 80 percent of wine in Australia is crushed by just 18 monster wineries. Unsure if those wineries are under same ownership or not. I think that comes into the wine show discussion and iwne list one too.

2. Most wine shows allow an entry provided the producer meets a minimum number of cases requirement. That plus the entry costs, multiple donated bottles required to enter regardless of whether you win or not, and multiple shows means that smaller producers are disadvantaged to enter.

Saturday Saturday Saturday – peak time for restaurant staff to be at work not available for training!

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Zachary Phillips

August 19, 2018 at 8:12 am

I’m an independent retailer in Sydney.

I think Simon and Daniel raise good points. I also think that it’s a genuine issue. Sydney, as a whole, doesn’t support local wines to the extent that Melbourne, Adelaide or Perth do. Maybe it’s the tourist action, but there are so few stores and restaurants where the focus is Aussie drops, which is a great shame. The ones that do have done a great job, but it’s far from the norm.

Part of the attendance may be that some of the trade had tried 90% of the wines already, work taking priority or not wanting to come into the city on a day off. Unfortunately, I think it’s some attendees who are the problem, rather than the shows. Ineveitably, there’s a somm/retailer who will compare an Aussie wine to an old world giant they once had (this is good, but it’s no DRC, for example) and reaction is always an eye roll – why should we care? It’s a comparison which doesn’t need to be made to begin with. Aussie wines are wonderful and should be celebrated on their own merits. That attitude only makes me think you’re a wa**er and potentially diminishes the wine for others.

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1. Andrew Graham
  
  August 19, 2018 at 9:26 am
  
  With you on the tired old world comparisons. Especially with Pinot. Blind lineups always remind that Burgundy can be amazing, but so can Aussie Pinot
  
  Reply
Tony Winspear

August 19, 2018 at 12:19 pm

In Sydney recently and Saturday traffic was similar to a parking lot and the same can increasingly be said of Melbourne. Massive traffic issues are also one of the main reasons that on-line purchasing (not just in our field) is going through the roof. Lack of Hunter wines on Sydney lists is not very amusing for the producers I’m sure. Victorians seem to be much more supportive of our local regions and SA has been parochial forever in this regard. The obscure imported wines on lists appear to be used to increase percentages as the average punter does not know them and does not know their price. This is one thing that has me eating somewhere else as they often dominate the by the glass list and I am mostly unable to knock a whole bottle of something drinkable. Cheap, low quality imported wine should not be supported in place of damn good Australian wine at the same price point. We attend wine shows to broaden or palates and get a look at what others are doing. We usually concentrate on tasting gear from smaller producers.

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Bob

August 27, 2018 at 6:14 pm

Do Shows have value? Yes, for makers of what could be described as commercial style wine. Your average punter takes notice of gold stickers on bottles. I’m not saying these wines are no good, I am saying they are often not exciting. They are wines you know are going to be consistent and a safe bet if there’s nothing else on a wine list or wine shop shelf. When I dine out I select food I wouldn’t generally cook at home and wines I generally can’t buy easily as they are often made in small quantities. I want a wine that makes me think. It may have a small fault which would knock it out of a show but in real drinking situations is fine or perhaps even enhances it. Would I pay $100 to taste the wines on that list you kindly provided? No. Would I as a micro producer of wine enter those shows? No. Would I as a somm in an exciting restaurant go to the trade day? No, it’s not my market. Are those shows a waste of time? No, they serve a purpose.

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1. Andrew Graham
  
  August 27, 2018 at 6:31 pm
  
  That last point is most important – they serve a purpose. And important to be across – the conventional and the less conventional
  
  Reply
Livewire

August 29, 2018 at 8:42 pm

Its in interesting one regarding shows. Some wine show committees/ panels are changing attitudes towards more lo fi styled wines. An example that i am led to believe that occurred was the King/ alpine valley regional show. After judging a class, one of the judges discussed a wine that he thought really had merit in its ( non show tick the boxes) style, while the others were split on it. The panel called it back and the discussion was had that it was a bloody good drink and subsequently it got brought up to a silver medal.
With our local Geelong show , I enter 2 wines each year , just to support the show and the local winemaking fraternity. However i choose my wildest, non show style wines to enter with the aim of creating discussion and conjecture amongst the judges! It has worked. I have split panels and had wines scored medal worthy by one judge only to be slated by the other 2 judges based on its lo fi nature and loose knit styles. It has also been an eye opener in regards to the comments that have been made by people at the tastings on how much they have enjoyed them. After a few years of this, the Geelong committee have listened to the judges, and it has been proposed to add a class for experimental, natural or low fi wines to be entered in to. Hopefully this sterile wine by numbers system that results in some cases non exciting wines winning can be tweaked to award bloody good and interesting drinks with some results.
This could help get more of the disinterested trade and trend followers involved!

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Alex

September 5, 2018 at 9:51 am

Having been in the industry for a while now, without over simplifying the situation there see to be 3 simple reasons why trade would be less likely to attend a tasting of this nature – especially on a Saturday morning:

1. Most trade have the luxury of being shown the bulk of these wines by the armies of sales reps that visit weekly from many of the distributors/wineries that would participate in the show system

2. Often it seems that the wines that wines that will be in demand are not yet released, allocated or alternatively already sold out

3. Saturday is a busy day of the week if you are in the trade – and trying to remain in business…

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1. Andrew Graham
  
  September 5, 2018 at 10:03 am
  
  Hard to disagree with most of those thoughts Alex. One point though – there is much much more than just the usual fodder at these tastings. Lots of wines that you wouldn’t always expect to see at wine shows popping up. But the perception remains that it’s all commercial junk and hence no one cares!
  
  Reply
Dru Reschke

September 12, 2018 at 1:10 pm

30 people – that’s crazy! Bring those bottles to my place. Incidentally, I can see our wine in your photo! Sweet – they didn’t lose it.

Of note with the sommelier comments:
We had 15 top sommeliers come to Coonawarra a few years back, and they asked me if I had any medals on any of my wines. I said no (Being new releases), and they collectively said: “That’s good.” I asked why, and they said (and I paraphrase) that it wasn’t our job as a winery to tell their customers if the wine is good or not, it was their job.

No Judgement – make of that what you will.

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1. Simon Colwell
  
  September 12, 2018 at 2:02 pm
  
  That’s incredibly arrogant of them to say that. What business, in any industry, has to rely solely on 3rd parties to say how good their product is ? It only reinforces my suspicions, aired above, about them justifying their existence.
  
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Dru Reschke

September 12, 2018 at 1:23 pm

One last thought – I am like you Andrew; still passionate and curious about wine, and I absolutely love looking at these tastings and taking part in Judging. And likewise, think people are crazy not to want to look at the calibre of what I think is a golden period of “balance” returning to Australian wines. It’s an exciting time in the industry, and love spending time with people of equal passion.

Even if it is only 30…

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1. Andrew Graham
  
  September 12, 2018 at 1:31 pm
  
  There is so much greatness out there, and even from big companies and wine shows.
  
  I grow tired of the view that we don’t make interesting wines, when the reality is the opposite – more interesting wines than uninteresting.
  
  Reply