Question submitted by Gary Ooi, Singapore:
“Every time when I have the opportunity to stop over in Australia, I always make an attempt to do at least one wine tour. However, besides tasting the wines, enjoying good food and admiring the fantastic scenery, I’d appreciate your guidance on what else I should look for? What do you look for when you visit a wine region?”
Jeremy’s Answer:
“To be honest, my objectives when visiting a wine region are perhaps a little different from those of the average traveller. I’m keen to get a feel for the landform, the soil types, the vineyard management techniques and to get an understanding of why certain grape varieties are more suited to it than others.
I also try to taste as many of the region’s key wines as I can, to try to cement in my mind the various relationships between the region and the taste and style of its wines. From a traveller’s perspective, I can perhaps offer a few tips. Here are ten that might help your next wine trip.”
1. Book in advance if you’re with a group.
Even larger wineries like to know if large groups (ie 6 or more people are coming, so they can ensure the visit is able to be managed by their staff to give the best visitor experience. Get on the phone or the email to let them now you’re coming. And, if you’re running late for your appointment, let them know as well.
2. Visit wineries that give you the chance to taste wines with their maker.
This way you have the opportunity to learn about the maker’s objectives, and to hear how he or she describes his or her own wine. You’re also far more likely to get an accurate answer to a technical question.
3. Try to book accommodation in advance.
Some Australian regions are pretty remote, and may not offer many options. Furthermore, Australians take a lot of holidays, so you might arrive in a large wine region to find most of its beds already taken.
4. Use the regional tourism or visitor’s centre to get a feel for what else it has to offer apart from its wine.
You will find a wealth of information at these places, as well as the ability to book accommodation, restaurants and tourism attractions.
5. Find out in advance something about the region’s wines, so you don’t waste time and energy on tasting lesser varieties.
Many Australian vineyards still grow a diverse ‘fruit salad’ of varieties, while in truth they only might make two or three to any genuine level of quality. So, if the region you’re visiting specialises in pinot noir and chardonnay, you may not want to waste your time tasting its riesling or petit verdot.
6. Try not to schedule more than four winery visits in a day.
A decent visit can involve a lot of tasting and talking, and can take up a lot of time. So pace yourselves, and don’t try to keep to impossible schedules that diminish your enjoyment of the individual visits. Less can be more!
7. Australia is a big place.
Just because names on maps might look close to each other, they can still be a very long distance apart. Speaking as one who has done it many times, there are few things more frustrating than racing at top speed in a foreign country trying to get from one point to another without time to enjoy the trip.
8. The blood alcohol limit for driving in Australia is .05, ie just about four standard drinks for the average western male.
The smaller stature of many Asian people means they might pass the legal blood alcohol limit in Australian without too many glasses. So, if you’re the driver, spit out or count them very carefully!
9. Don’t drive around in a car that is becoming progressively more packed with wine.
Tempting as it is to build a cellar in the car boot, after a few days under the Australian sun you are very likely to cook all the wine you have lovingly placed inside it.
10. Some wineries charge for tastings.
This is quite fair enough, especially if they are opening large numbers of bottles of rare and/or expensive wines. Many wineries waive the tasting fee if a purchase is made. Some wineries that charge also serve a small platter of food to accompany the tasting. There are no fixed rules. If you don’t want to pay, you don’t have to taste.
