Occasionally OnWine breaks out of its usual Australian focus and looks over the fence. This is one of those times. It’s also timely, that given a recent record vintage in the US and a pending result of similar proportions in Australia, that OnWine takes a glimpse at the American wine scene and wine culture. After all, the fate of this country’s industry is very closely aligned with the willingness of Americans to buy and consume its product over the long term. The issue begins with a look at merlot, a variety which gets pushed under the spotlight each year by Chris Cameron of Pepper Tree Wines. It’s a true world grape today, but who is performing best with it? No excuses, please, Australians. Thanks to a recent visit to the US, I have had the opportunity to take a good look at what some of the better Californian makers are doing with cabernet sauvignon. It’s remarkable how similar the issues confronting Australian and American growers and makers have become and the cross-pollination between the two pools of knowledge will surely move to another level with the high degree of involvement now existing between the industries. Terry Davis, CEO of the Foster’s wine division which recently acquired key US maker Beringer, talks about the takeover and how Foster’s was able to get the jump on the various US parties interested in the deal. I just hope that Beringer will indeed be given the space it needs to do what it’s proven so good at, for Mildara Blass still has everything to learn about the making and marketing of so-called ‘ultra-premium’ wine. My US trip gave me the opportunity to visit Washington State, where I had a special opportunity to participate in the wine auction to beat all wine auctions, an event I cover at the end of this issue. In future releases of OnWine I will discuss the remarkable progress being made in Washington with merlot and riesling, and in Oregon with pinot noir. Other than the descent into Pasco, Washington, which from the air looks to be about as much of a wine region as does Birdsville, the greatest surprise of all in the US was the rate at which well-intentioned Americans are planting shiraz. In the main, I was as mystified by their approach to it as they were by it, so it looks like they’re in for quite a wrestle. Anyone involved in Australian wine right now will be hoping it lasts the full fifteen rounds. With talk of economic slowdown in the air it will be interesting to people like me and deeply concerning to others to track sales of wines priced above $30 per bottle. Those producers who played their cards safely and didn’t hike up their prices excessively will now be thanking their stars. As for the opportunists, their time might have come. Jeremy Oliver
