Whining and Dining

Recent reports from the Vineyard indicate that there is a glut of wine on the market at present. Sales are declining and many grape growers could cease production, leaving a few large companies controlling the industry. I hadn't realized that my semi-abstemious approach to alcohol use could have such far-reaching consequences. I suppose that I should follow the current political posturing and say that I am Very Sorry and the "Buck Stops With Me". However, I feel that there are other factors influencing this decline; competition, expansion, advertising overkill, greed and lack of availability of pleasure-money. It would be a pity if the wide range of wines currently filling the shelves of the wine cellars should diminish.

Once upon a time, the large wine producers had a "take it or leave it" approach to presenting their wares. The relatively plain labelling was dignified with an occasional flourish or two. Gradually, smaller boutique wineries found space on the shelves and began to revolutionise wine choices. Colourful pictures began to decorate bottles, and even cartoons appealed to the quirky tastes of some customers, while the names of Vineyards ranged from Geographic to Eccentric ...Mount Erebus Estate, Loaded Dog, Twin Virgins, Limestone Manor ...

Browsing the shelves of the bright, fluoro-lit commercial distributors and trying to make a decision has become as exciting and time consuming as selecting books from a well stocked library. Variety and visual excitement present a formidable challenge. This feeling is somewhat diminished when the home cellar is consulted. Half a dozen dusty bottles in the dark rear of a clothes cupboard does not induce the same pleasureable indecision.

The creation of reverse-side information has also contributed to the mystique of wine choices. If bottles reverted to former plain identification of products, how would imbibers know what to do with the contents. Former connoisseurs who spent so much time sniffing a modicum of wine in the bottom of a large glass in search of the scent of mountainside magnolias with just a suspicion of chamomile and a lingering licorice aroma will no longer know what to do with their wine, other than to drink it. They will also miss being guided into other fields of sensory exploration. When they finally taste the product, how will they be able to differentiate between the subtle flavour of burnt artichoke with a memory of ripe blueberries and the brisk assault of mellow watermelon with an undercurrent of wild choko, unless they have the experts' written guidance.

Finally, what about those poor cooks who will be left standing among their paraphernalia of ingredients, with gaping mouth and glazed eye like a defunct Murray Cod, unable to decide what would be an appropriate dish to accompany the chosen wine. This decline of the initiation into and guidance through the mysterious, esoteric world of wine imbibing would be sadly missed. It's time for everyone to help reverse this dire situation. Personally, I am off to spend an hour or so in selecting a couple of bottles of elixir to supplement our cellar.