Today I’m following up two different but technology-related matters I’ve raised before within the News section of the site. The first refers to Australian wines tainted by ashtray-like tastes from the 2003 bushfires. With my office immediately adjacent to that of Australia’s leading firm of wine production consultants, Wine Network Australia, I often taste wines that challenge the traditional mindset of winemaking. Today I tasted a wine that had its bushfire taint removed. The ‘before’ sample had the bitter, ashtray effect not uncommon in wineries close to the bushfire affected regions, while the ‘after’ sample was a saleable wine with fruit and vitality. Not a classic, but with a little more treatment, ie perhaps a little concentration, it would be more than just drinkable. Incredible, really, and it might save the bacon for more than a few wine producers this year. The second matter concerns the cheap shot the LA Times took at Australian wine recently when they judged our entire industry on ten inexpensive wines, several of which are hardly known here or in the US. Under a heading ‘Journalistic Myopia’, highly respected and credentialed US wine critic Dan Berger wrote in Volume VIII Issue 11 of his weekly newsletter ‘Dan Berger’s Vintage Experiences’ that: ‘Americans are buying Aussie wine for good reasons. They’re good, and good value.’ In the next issue of his newsletter Berger mentions that one of the key challenges facing the Californian wine industry is ‘a competitor (Australia) capable of delivering the goods at a price we can’t touch!’ He adds: ‘One thing most California winery owners do not understand is just how far ahead of the United States is the Australian wine industry, both technologically as well as in a fine wine marketing sense.’ Berger also makes the very pertinent observation that one of the aces in the hole of Australian wine is the Australian Wine Research Institute (AWRI), which spearheads this country’s energetic approach towards technology and innovation. The AWRI was last year’s recipient of the Maurice O’Shea Award for its contribution to Australian wine. From two very different perspectives, technology is indeed a major contributing force to Australian wine. Dan Berger’s newsletter can be found through his website: www.VintageExperiences.com.
