A trip to the Hunter Valley a few days ago was my first for quite a few years. A number of discussions revealed serious problems in this wine growing region.
It probably starts with the climate. Nobody would start this up as a wine region today, a number of winemakers told me. It is quite hot in summer, although the peak is not as high as in South Australia. The diurnal range is low, about 15 degrees, with 20 degree nights, which means grapes continue to ripen at night. The summer humidity is high. As a result, pesticides are widely used. This has lead to very poor soil. Most vineyards show naked soil between rows, no doubt devoid of worms or nematodes. It is largely industrial farming, with wide spaces between vine rows and mechanical harvesting.
This has lead to average quality of wines, which was good enough, as the wineries largely cater to visitors, mostly from Sydney. On the other hand, it is difficult for them to get on restaurant wine lists, and even retail shelves in the cities. It is not just a marketing problem. Wine clubs are therefore heavily promoted.
Because of all this, many young people have left the region. The average age of the winemaker is higher in the Hunter than in other regions. No wider scale innovation, as with new varieties in McLarenVale, or fresh Shiraz in the Barossa, or Grenache in both, is apparent.
Of course, there are exceptions to all of these statements. I will comment on one of them in my next post.
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