Travis Fuller, managing director of Kilikanoon in Clare, has just returned from a whirlwind trip to Italy and Germany. This is his take-home message to the Australian wine industry.
Beside the sunshine, it remains tough in Europe.
Most were talking up the positives and trying not to get into a death spiral of doom and gloom but the veneered smiles and glassy eyes tell a tougher story.
Generally, I heard a lot of this: “Australian wines are some of the best, they are just not selling here in Europe…”
I would love to hear others’ more positive spin?
For me it was primarily the annual pilgrimage to a little town called Neustadt in the Palatinate (Pfaltz) region of South-western Germany judging at Mundus Vini.
A pretty part of the world it is, and vintage tends to start the week we arrive.
Plenty of GG Rieslings released at the end of the week as well (2024s) from the likes of Von Buhl, Von Winning and Basserman Jordan, all good foils to our classic Clare styles.
It marked my 17th year (and perhaps 22nd show as they were once twice a year for me) and it was wonderful to be amongst such talented and dedicated wine professionals.
A large cohort of judges from 30+ countries work their way through thousands of wines over three days using some of the most comprehensive data capture you will see in a wine show (attached is a nice little spider chart of our Covenant Shiraz.
Of course, they have long stopped me from doing any of the Australian category, so I have the wonders of Italian (vintage) Glera, Primitivo, Gruner and lots of Pinot Grigio to contend with.
You also get interesting wines from South Africa, France, Georgia, Spain and of course Germany amongst others.
On the sidelines of the show are tastings from various regions (this year the Loire and Burgenland) who look to tout their wares to an international audience.
I happened to be sitting with one esteemed commentator on wine at the Loire tasting when there was an uproar over the tannic profile of the Cabernet Franc.
The response from the presenter centred around, “That is what the region and the winery makes and that’s what we sell.”
The commentator leaned into me and said, “Typical French attitude. We will make the wine we want and then spend our time telling people how to enjoy it!”
Touche!
It reminded me of all this debate around being consumer focused.
To make wine that people want to buy.
Those are the wines that are succeeding.
The idea that more wine education for the sake of “well perhaps if I understand it, I might like it” is fading.
The days are ended with laughter, new friendships and old rekindled, all promising each other to “do better” and (hopefully) be around next year to tell some more wine war stories together.
Does the wine industry need its own Department of War to suggest a more proactive posture?
There is no doubt we are all in the trenches at the moment.
Photo: Travis Fuller (far right) at Mundus Vini.
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