A belated Happy New Year’s to all our King’s Tribune readers and I hope you have successfully navigated the treacherous holiday season unscathed. We start 2011 with a bit of a kerfuffle in the Australian wine world. Stephen Pannell, an excellent and much respected wine maker from McLaren Vale, very publicly proposed an idea that from January 2011 Australian wine punters should drink only Australian wine. He openly expressed his frustration that everywhere he seemed to turn, whether it be in the press, the web or actual wine events or the industry, people were choosing and promoting, at least to his eyes and ears, imported wines. Pannell said to Decanter magazine “Australian wine is not travelling well even in our own market. There’s almost a cultural cringe about our wines but we should have pride in them. It’s hypocritical to eat local and then drink Chianti”. I have met Stephen Pannell and to say he is a man with some strong opinions is clearly an understatement.

So he started a web site, as you do, called All for One Wine to spread the word and urge Australian winemakers and drinkers to take the “pledge”. I feel his intentions were admirable but the execution and context in which it took its tentative first few steps sent it staggering down a controversial path. On one hand, it would not be so bad to urge folks to enjoy some good Aussie made wine but to advocate boycotting imported wine to do so sort of casts the die in a whole different direction (sort of like an Aussie music month where you are forbidden to listen to any other music – heaven forbid). And the expected firestorm erupted both here and abroad. Many folks in some of our biggest export markets said it smacked of protectionism and jingoism; here on the home-front Robert Walters, a principle in Bibendum Wine Company, took Stephen Pannell and All for One Wine to task with a very cogent and succinct blog post titled “J’accuse: Why “All for One” Leaves a Bad Taste in my Mouth”. He highlights some important facts that upend the All for One Wine “woe is me” lament, to wit: In the last fiscal year:

• Domestic wine consumption has risen by 6%, in contrast to declining consumption in most of the rest of the world. Granted, Aussie wineries are doing it tough but it could be tougher.

• 88% of ALL wine consumed in Australia was Australian wine. And of the 12% imported component, 8% was New Zealand wine (NZ is 70% of all imported wines). So the claim by Stephen Pannell that “…imported wines are everywhere” appears slightly histrionic with a 4% market share (unless of course you want to take a swipe at New Zealand - go on, I know you want to). And the wine category that has been most buggered by the New Zealand import growth – European wines.

• And why such a huge surge in New Zealand imports Mr. Walters asks? Well one aspect is that we simply love to guzzle Marlborough Sav Blanc by the litre but there is another key fact and that is the WET (Wine Equalization Tax). Not to bore you with those gruesome details but to simply say that the Aussie government gives a $500,000 tax rebate to any New Zealand winemaker who can ship enough wine into the Australian market. Guess what those clever Kiwi winemakers are doing?

Another point Walters makes is that many of the Australian wine woes (and there certainly are some woes) are, to some degree, self-inflicted and that efforts like All for One Wine should be mustering up the courage to ask the tough questions and examine the industry critically, so as to chart a better course for the future.

And I find myself in complete agreement with his closing statement… “So this January and every other month for that matter, I will continue to support, promote and drink quality, authentic wine, no matter where it is grown, Australia or abroad. I know I will not be alone. In such difficult times, the producers of inspiring wines, no matter where they live, are the ones that most need and most deserve, our support.”

Here’s a review of a few of my holiday tipples…

Holly’s Garden Pinot Gris 2009 $28 - $35

I had the great pleasure of attending my first Twitter Tweetup (where actual, real people get together for real food and drink) recently and one of the guest Twits was Neil Prentice of Holy’s Garden. As a special treat for the night Neil had this Pinot Gris available for a sweet price and my table got a few bottles deep into this delicious wine. I have been casting about for the right words to describe this wine but cannot seem to get past Neil’s own words – unctuous and voluptuous. And the acidity level was just right to keep it from slipping down into the cloying category. Kicks butt with Asian flavours.

Schild Estate Barossa Shiraz 2008 $17 - $21

If you are in need of a totally crowd pleasing shiraz, run like mad to your local wine shop (or Dan Murphy’s if need be) and scoop up as many of these as you can afford or need. This is beyond gulpable and represents serious value for money in the under $20 category. This wine has dark fruits flavours in spades with a particularly juicy plum centre and a palate weight that feels like a velvet slipper around your tongue. And if you don’t believe me, this wine was ranked #7 of the top 100 wines in 2010 by the Wine Spectator – like I said, run!

Brown Brothers Pinot Noir, Chardonnay & Petit Meunier NV $18 - $22

I chose this as my holiday sparkling and not at all disappointed I might say. I generally like non-vintage sparkling or champagne better than vintage (not always) because it is (a) less expensive and (b) the style is more consistent than with vintage variation. This is a real winner at this price – lots of lemon, nuts, a wee touch of apple and a very attractive lusciousness on the palate and finish. In the December/January issue of Gourmet Traveller Wine magazine’s sparkling tasting this took out the #3 spot with 94 points against some very serious competition.

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