There is always a lot of rabid, foam-at-the-mouth ranting going on at the King’s Tribune (and rightly so) but I have been pretty quiet – until now. I have decided, for this month’s wine column, I wanted to start getting a few issues off my chest, so let the whining begin…

Restaurant and Bar Wine Prices

If everyone did not already know, Australia (and the rest of the world for that matter) is floating in, literally, an ocean of wine. That is bad news for the many wineries that are enduring some very tough times; the good news is that the average wine sipper has never had a better choice of a decent drop to drink, at a more than pleasurable price – agreed?

It appears to me that many a good winemaker needs to sell any vino juice they possibly can to bring in a bit of much needed dosh. That means that lots of what used to be top end wines are now being bottled under 2nd labels or cleanskins and sold at some steep discounts. So the basic question is: Why, when I go out to a bar or restaurant for a drink with friends, do the wines by the glass have to start at $14? I know that many Melbourne sommeliers are in a craze to find the latest hard-to-find wine grown in the foothills of the Himalayas and made by monks filtered through a Yak’s bladder, but they should still be able to offer you a decent drop for well under $10.

I have owned a restaurant and wine bar and I know the maths, so I am a bit resistant to the usual arguments (staff costs, taxes, rent, owners made me do it) to rationalize $14 a glass. If you buy a wine for $10 a bottle net wholesale (and there are many decent and interesting wines out there at that price) and mark it up 400% (more than a decent mark-up I’d say) then it is on your list at $40 and with 5 standard pours to a bottle that equates to $8 per glass (and I’d probably buy at least 2 glasses if not the bottle at that price). The $14 a glass strategy, to me, is a ‘win the battle, lose the war’ approach, by which I mean if I come to your bar/restaurant and fork over $14 for a glass of wine, yes Mr. Restaurant Owner you have made your profit tonight (won the battle), but I won’t be back tomorrow (lost the war) and neither will any of my friends (or Twitter, Facebook, blog and King’s Tribune followers) who care to listen or ask my advice. Capiche?

Independent Versus Industrial Wine Stores

I wrote an article for the King’s Tribune back in October 2009 about the glories of the small, independent (dare I say artisan) wine stores that are such a fantastic repository of wine knowledge and offer up a far more interesting selection of winemakers than the Big Boys (Dan Murphy’s, Vintage Cellars, 1st Choice, BWS, etc…). Well, even as I write this they are under threat and disappearing at an alarming rate, which is very sad news for anyone who gives a hoot about wine.

In just the last month I have seen the independent Yarraville Cellars gobbled up by Vintage Wines; the great and esoteric Randall’s (of Albert Park and Hawthorn) sold to Coles; and the online independent giant Cellarmasters bought by Woolies. It seems that in the not too distant future the Australian wine world will be very much like Henry Ford’s Model T – you can have any colour (wine) as long as it’s black (it’s on our industrial wine stock list).

They are Starbuck-ing our wine options. And it’s not like the Big Boys don’t already scarf up a decent chunk of your vinous dollars (Woolies reportedly accounts for more than 40% of all retail spending), just have a look at this list and see how many of these bottles you’ve bought in the last year. Scary, huh? Support your local wine shop – fast.

And for some happier news, a couple of stellar wines reviewed…

Box Grove Vineyard Shiraz / Roussanne 2008 $22

Box Grove owner Sarah Gough has been around the wine biz for some serious years. She started working for Brown Brothers in 1986, 10 years later she decided to pull up roots and move to the family farm in Tabilk.

Brown Brothers did not want her to leave so they kept her on board via the novel (then anyways) use of a modem to dial in to work. But they also asked her to plant 10 hectares of vines (cabernet sauvignon and shiraz) under contract. She made a smart decision and insisted at least one variety be white – Roussanne (and as a result, she was then the largest grower in Victoria).

She has made quite a name for her winery with her Roussanne releases (look out for it and snatch a bottle if you see it for something a bit different), garnering golden praise from many critics but the Shiraz/Roussane (co-fermented) blend is none too shabby either.

There is definitely a ‘candied’ quality to this wine but that is a good thing as in flashes of liquorice and chocolate.

I found this wine to be medium-plus bodied on the palate with a silky mouth-feel and possessing a very soft, elegant tannin structure that made for a totally pleasant drink (it was even better the next day).

S. C. Pannell Pronto Tinto 2008 $20 - $24

I have enjoyed several of Stephen Pannell’s wines over the years and had the great opportunity to participate in a Grenache tasting with him in McLaren Vale last October.

He is a winemaker’s winemaker and can count in his stable of awards the International Red Winemaker of the Year at the International Wine Challenge in London, the Jimmy Watson Memorial Trophy at the Royal Melbourne Wine Show, twice winning the Max Schubert Trophy at the Adelaide Wine Show as well as being listed as one of the 50 most influential contributors to the world of wine by Decanter Magazine. Phew!

Enough on award and trophies though, the proof is in the pudding and this wine is certainly proving he’s got the pudding nailed. This is the entry-level wine for S. C. Pannell and it is a blend of Spanish and Portuguese varieties - Grenache, Touriga Nacional (used in Port), Shiraz and Mourvedre.

Like the geographic origins of the grapes, I found this wine to be very warm and plush on the palate, oozing black fruits like cherries, with some hints of plums.

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