Blog

*Let’s stop putting wine on a pedestal.

*Let’s avoid using words like icon and iconic. Not only are they clichés, but they have come to mean unaffordable (and highly sought after) luxury objects – which is a million miles away from the actual sense of these words.

*Let’s not pretend that a lot of cheap factory-manufactured wine is anything other than the Primula cheese spread of the wine trade, and let’s not pretend that it is snobbish to say so.

*Let’s stop referring to individuals as consumers and second-guessing Joe and Joanna Public.

*Just because some customers may have conservative tastes it is not a reason in itself to pander to those tastes.

*Let’s get rid of the vestigial snobbery in the wine trade so that we don’t have to have reverse snobbery.

*Let’s not encourage growers to use intense new wood flavours in their wines just because they think those wines will stand out in tasting competitions and win medals which, in turn, will help them sell their wines. Break the vicious circle.

*When judging in wine competitions please assess wines according to what you would like to drink rather than what you believe the public might like, or what you think other judges might find superficially impressive.

*Let’s acknowledge that trade journals are obsessed to an unhealthy degree with the Chinese market, Bordeaux, fine wine auctions and the wavering fortunes of Australian brands to the point of infantilism.

*Let’s challenge the assumption that some people have better palates (so-called supertasters). This may well be the case, but they do not necessarily have better judgement and will bring their own flaws, prejudices and peculiarities to the act of tasting.

*Let’s stop making predictions and wish lists.