Sleepless in Sydney

Well, it's kind of nice to be in the one place for a little while, because the second half of the year is shaping up to be quite hectic.

I've just done a lap of the right-hand side of Australia (OK, I went to the three biggest cities outside Sydney) to show off some of the new arrivals and "old" favourites from the first shipment.

Straight back from NZ I went to Melbourne, starting with a Central Otago tasting at Prince Wine Store in South Melbourne, where I helped Sharon Flavell on the Surveyor Thomson stand. We got a lot of good feedback for the 06 pinot, which is sealed under diam reconstituted cork. The 07 was out and about for a sneak preview. Some of it was sealed under diam, the bulk under screwcap, but right now the diam-sealed is the better bottle. I think the screwcap will have caught up by the time it is released in November.

It was a pretty big turnout and a tiring day coming on top of about two hours' sleep as I printed catalogues, prepared materials and caught a 6am flight ... I stayed with friends in the Yarra Valley for the next two nights and then ventured back to the big smoke for a trade tasting at Comme. Well, only 13 of the 25 trade who confirmed for the Central Otago masterclass bothered to turn up, and there was only a handful of other trade who came along to taste. It was a shocking result for the region. Melbourne seems to be hurting a bit more than it is letting on, and I have heard more than a dozen restaurants are banned from buying wine from other suppliers because of non-payment of bills.

I left there and went to the Albert Park Hotel, where I had a beautiful room upstairs for my first trade tasting of the year. Again, the turnout was disappointing. Many who said they would come didn't, most with valid reasons: doctors stuck in surgery, lawyers stuck in court, retailers swamped with work. The feedback from the punters was fantastic though: the champagnes from Billiot, Geoffroy and Ployez all found many new fans, and the lineup of 20 or so rieslings was like a masterclass of nine producers, from dry to auslese goldcap.

I bundled up all the leftovers for a major retailer to try the next day, and prepared for leg two in Brisbane. I went straight from the airport to the next Central Otago session, trade followed by public at the same venue. These were both well supported and the feedback very popular. Punters would come back and say the Surveyor Thomson pinot was in their top two or three of the day, and at $45 retail it's good value.

The next day, Wednesday, June 17, I held my own tasting at Monsoon in Fortitude Valley. There wasn't a huge turnout but they were quality customers -- a guy who owns a couple of top restaurants spent a fair bit of time there, as did the whole team from the Wine Emporium in a couple of shifts. Cru Bar + Cellar staff tasted widely and ordered strongly, and wine critic and writer Tyson Stelzer took lots of notes and will be publishing some in the next WBM100 magazine. There's a 94, a 95 and a 96-pointer in there from him, which I'm mildly pleased about ;-) There was also a great crew of customers from the Champagne Gallery who call themselves FOCers - Friends of Champagne. The head honcho described herself as the Mother-FOCer. 8-)

Went back to Sydney to regroup and plan the next tasting on Monday, June 22. Again, lots of no shows from trade ... it seems I will virtually have to go door to door to catch the attention of some sommeliers, which is rather time consuming and less productive for all concerned. At this tasting I had more than 50 wines open, and if I was going door to door I would take just six to 10.

The extras this time were the new Ash Ridge and Unison wines from Hawke's Bay, plus a preview of Stephane Aladame's Cremant de Bourgogne -- bubbles from outside the Champagne region -- and some 07 Burgundies. The Alex Gambal Deux Papis bourgogne rouge is a gorgeous little wine and will be a hit later this year. The Camille Giroud 1er crus also had people reaching for their wallets, but they will have to wait for the next container too!

The feedback again was excellent -- a sommelier from an Italian restaurant who came to try the champagnes succumbed to temptation and tried some rieslings, and was stunned. He wanted to not like them but couldn't resist and said he would have to add some to his wine list! Woohoo.

The last stop was Adelaide. There was some confusion as to who was going to invite the trade (I'm being diplomatic), so I hit the phones on Sunday and tried to round up as many people as possible. Got a good public turnout and more valuable feedback. People loved the champagnes, the Hawke's Bay syrahs, Alluviale's merlot-cabernet franc, the Dombeya wines and different rieslings won over different people, which is exactly how it should be.

The venue was nice but I didn't like being charged $200 for a staff member who went home before the tasting started! And they are resisting my calls for a refund. They haven't heard the end of this.

The next day was windy and stormy but I eventually tore myself away from the comfort of Alex Romanee Conti's house to go to McLaren Vale. I showed a few wines to Fino (they seemed to love everything) and Salopian Inn. Couple of top eateries there. I almost bought a place in MV once and would still love to live down that way. As well as the house in Burgundy of course ;-)

Back to Sydney, I ran myself ragged with a sleepless night from illness and an early flight. For the first time in I don't know how long I couldn't sleep on the plane, and then it was into a hectic seven-stop tasting tour with Philip Horn from Unison and Chris Wilcock from Ash Ridge. Their presence opened the door at some new retailers, and the wines were well received all day (as well as at five more stores the next day). Already they are for sale at Wine Culture in Roseville, Best Cellars in East Sydney, Vintage Blue in Kent St and as of tomorrow will be at the fabulous new Rockpool Bar & Grill in Hunter St.

We had dinner that night with friends at A'Mews on Glebe Pt Road to show how food friendly the wines were ... Richard Moyser did exceptionally well (on his birthday) to match dishes to wines he hadn't even tasted!

I'm never without plenty of work to do ... and I have to make the most of the new financial year to ring up some good sales as the pressure is on from Europe to settle bills and pay for the next shipment. I would love to get this 20-foot container of Champagne and Burgundy -- including my first Beaujolais and two Chablis -- here by October, in time for the warmer weather.

What's next? An agency is about to start pushing the range in Perth, which is well overdue, and I will sneak out to Canberra and Newcastle to show any interested restaurants and retailers a few bottles. In mid-August I will head to NZ to try new releases from Alluviale, Ash Ridge and Unison, and in September I hope to go back to Europe to try new wines, attend the German riesling auctions (for the rare few sweeter wines of the 08 vintage), try to find a northern Rhone bargain to import, and seal the deal with a couple more cult Champagne producers.

Stay tuned.