Not only is brettanomyces an issue capable of dividing wine writers, but recent events suggest it might also split families. Decanter.com presently features an article by Patrick Matthews in which he quotes a young Kiwi wine technologist Sam Harrop, who presently works for Marks and Spencer. Harrop informed a trade panel of UK tasters that not all brett is bad. While acknowledging that a balance between ‘these more earthy brett characters and the fruit’ is important, he is also reported as saying: ‘I think we should embrace brett because it adds another dimension and makes wine more diverse.’ One of the best of Australia’s current crop of young winemakers is Matt Harrop, the winemaker for Shadowfax Winery at Werribee Park, Victoria. This Harrop, who happens to be a cousin of Sam Harrop, is well known for referring to brett as ‘The Pox’. To suggest that he and his cousin are perhaps not exactly of one mind where this issue is concerned is a whopper of an under-statement. While the UK-based and possibly Old World-influenced Harrop reckons that brett is here for keeps and that we’re going to see much more of it, the Australian-based and New World-influenced Harrop is doing whatever he can to minimise its influence at Werribee Park. I’ll bet the discussion at the next extended Harrop family gathering is worth listening to once they get around to uncorking the reds…
