No regrets, no surrender

I’m in the mood for a bit of niggle, and why not? It might be a combination of barometric pressure (electrical storm in Sydney tonight) and hayfever (I’ve been sneezing my head off for a week). But in the wine world, what irritates me is a lack of experimentation by many people in positions of buying authority – the people who decide what will be stocked in the bottle shops and on the wine lists of your favourite restaurants.

Don’t get me wrong, I’ve had a lot of success and am tremendously grateful for the support I have had over the past 2½ years, with many of Australia’s leading restaurants buying the wines I have chosen and imported.

Marque, Aria, Quay, Tetsuya’s, Rockpool Bar & Grill, Vue de Monde, Ortiga, Fins, Glass, Fino, Bouchard, Must Wine Bar, Bentley Bar & Grill … you can find our wines in all of these fine establishments and many more.

But looking at other wine lists, as I am compulsively and obsessively inclined to do, I note a mundane repetition of certain brands that I believe just don’t cut it any more, if they ever did.

I suspect -- and have been told by more than one sommelier -- that some people buy those wines “because we always have”. Perhaps they don’t explore further to realise there is a greater choice out there these days, often better quality and often less expensive. Perhaps they just can’t be bothered looking at new products. Or dealing with more suppliers. Or risking their bonuses, incentives, overseas trips with the major importers … there must be an explanation for it.

From what I can tell it extends from German Riesling to white Burgundy to red Burgundy to Champagne, and of course these are the regions I love and focus on with my imports portfolio.

Much to my relief there is a wave of young guns out there and they are open-minded, tasting everything they can get their lips on. And then they’re buying those wines for their tiny wine bars, their enotecas, their laneway establishments, even their mainstream restaurants looking for an edge. And it seems to be these people whose businesses are booming, who are the talk of the town. It also seems that Sydney is doing it better than Melbourne, which appears to be a bastion of vinous conservatism.

Rather than denigrating any producers – because I’m sure they’re all doing their best – I would ask you, my very limited mailing list, to keep your mind open when new products come along. Maybe you haven’t heard of the producer, but who’s to say their wines can’t be great if you and I think they are? Why shouldn’t we enjoy the fruits of people who labour away out of the spotlight, away from the beaten track that Robert Parker, Jancis Robinson, David Schildknecht, Stephen Tanzer or John Gilman tread?

The beauty of the vast Eurocentric Wine Imports portfolio is that you are getting the world brought to you: the best wines I have sourced so far, trucked, shipped and stored in temperature-controlled conditions, and available to you in whatever quantities you like. It’s up to you when, where and how. You can buy direct or you can buy through your favourite retailer or restaurant, it doesn’t matter to me, but I hope you – and I – can keep an open mind whenever a wine comes along that we might not know.