Hard at work in Sydney

It's all happening at the moment ... hang on, when hasn't it been all happening for the past year?!

I've been out and about in the trade for the past couple of weeks, meeting existing clients and potential new ones. The first couple of days was with Grant Dodd of Dombeya in Stellenbosch, even though Grant is an Aussie, former golf pro and now Channel 10 golf commentator! The Dombeyas have been getting a great reception, and people are very pleasantly surprised by the cost. I approached Grant about these wines originally because Kemenys wanted some. I didn't intend to source them but Grant twisted my arm (lob wedge to the back of the head). When they landed, Kemenys cancelled their order. Grrr.

Now Becasse has put the chardonnay on its list, North Sydney Cellars and Wine Culture at Roseville have taken the chardonnay, shiraz and Samara bordeaux blend, Annandale Cellars loved the chardonnay too, and Cremorne Cellars has gone the chard-shiraz double. Who'd have thought South African wine would be so popular? Must be all the new immigrants! No, the wines are genuinely good, and retail for $30-35 each. Another of Sydney's top restaurants, Aria, has asked to see the chardonnay and bordeaux blend next week too.

This week I was on the road with Wine by Brad and Mantra wines, Surveyor Thomson pinot and Alluviale wines from NZ, and a couple of rieslings. The response made me realise I should take fewer wines each time ... people wanted to buy all of them but couldn't, so they were in competition with themselves. Becasse ended up taking Schloss Lieser riesling; Fix St James went for the Brad duo of cab merlot and sem sav blanc, as well as Schloss Lieser and Willi Schaefer rieslings; the Australian Wine Centre restocked Surveyor Thomson; Cremorne Cellars went for Schloss Lieser, Alluviale Blanc, Surveyor Thomson and Dupont-Tisserandot premier cru red Burgundy; and Annandale opted for WBB, Surveyor Thomson, Willi Schaefer and Dupont's Gevrey village.

Most of these wines are sealed with screwcaps or diam corks, so I don't have any problem with faults, thankfully.

I'll be hitting the phones again on Monday and Tuesday to rustle up some more appointments, because on June 1 and 2 I hope to be packing people's pre-arrival orders, on June 3 I fly to Auckland, on June 4 I pop down to Queenstown to see the Surveyor Thomson vineyard (even though it will be under snow! What is it with snow following me everywhere?!)

Then I have a couple of days to celebrate a friend's 50th birthday, at the same time finishing off the new catalogue to reflect the 20 exclusive imported wine brands that will be available nationwide from Eurocentric Wine Imports from June 10. Scary in a way -- that's only half of it!

I'm really excited about this shipment, although it's all white wine. What's with that in the middle of winter? Oh well, in plenty of time to get on the sumer wine lists, I hope. What is going to take off? I think the Rene Geoffroy and Henri Billiot rosés, the Geoffroy Empreinte champagne, as it's just been listed as the house bubbly at French Laundry and Per Se, the bourgogne blanc sealed in screwcap from Thierry Matrot, and the bargain premier cru whites from Stephane Aladame.

I'm obviously a riesling tragic, representing 13 top producers from Germany, but these truly are some of the great whites of the wine world, and so inexpensive. Arriving down under for the first time are five-star producers Emrich-Schonleber, Schafer-Frohlich, Okonomierat Rebholz and Zilliken, and the bargain Mosel mover Andreas Schmitges.

What else is happening? The company bought me -- or is leasing at least -- a much more suitable car for sales and delivery calls. It's an SUV, so I can flip open the boot, put the seats down and load up the back with wine that can be covered and kept airconditioned, and there's not the same back-bending and scrambling as required when you load up the back seat of a Honda Accord!

The deal has been done in such a way as to take advantage of the government's tax breaks on asset investment, while the sale of the Honda will go back into the business as I battle on manfully for the three years that banks insist on before they will even consider financial support. By then I might not need it.

Right, back to work ... I'm ringing every Australian who has stayed at the wonderful house at Ployez Jacquemart in Ludes, Champagne, offering them an introductory deal and some free flutes and ice buckets if they buy enough!

Cheers!
Neville