It's A Vine Spell, But Not For Consumers
THE SUNDAY AGE
Saturday April 1, 1995
Wine production this year is going to be low, woefully low, so wine- drinking squirrels should start stockpiling now.
Drought, frost and hail are being blamed for production that is down as much as 50 per cent in some areas but the thing no one really understands is the vines are having a spell.
The theory goes that 1994 and 1993 were high volume years and vines are reacting by setting a smaller crop. You can actually measure this by weighing the bunches. This year the average bunch size is well down. They certainly look smaller and this means less juice.
Less juice means less wine, but it also means a bigger concentration of color and flavor because this comes from the skins and there is a bigger ratio of skin to juice.
So we can expect wines with plenty of flavor which is good news. The most depressing news is the potential prices.
The wine wise should be stockpiling as a hedge against the obvious inflation to come. Grape prices flow through to the till in the bottle shop.
It will be the lower-priced wine that will show the biggest price hikes. There are simply no cheap grapes this year. Even a low-rent variety such as grenache is commanding impressive prices, and reinstated (in terms of image) shiraz is reaching into the top-shelf price bracket.
The message is buy now while you can afford the stuff. A useful tip when stockpiling is not to get too much of the same thing.
It's tempting to haggle a deal on 10 cases of a great wine such as the Wynns Coonawarra Hermitage 1993. But you know what they say about too much of a good thing. In some circles it is known as not-bloody- Beluga-and-Krug again syndrome. Unlike beer, wine is meant to change and have different flavors. It is easy to overdose on a single wine.
A good stockpile/cellar should have a healthy mix of varieties and regions. You never know when you might get a hankering for a mellow, earthy Hunter or a voluptuous Barossa. It's nice to have the choice.
This advice is fine but it should be added that it will all come to naught if you don't have reasonable cellar conditions. There is no point investing if the wine is going to be wrecked by hostile conditions.
In brief, it should be stored in a cool, dry and dark place away from fluctuating temperatures. Leaving it in the carton is a good idea because the cardboard acts as insulation. You can get away with less- than-ideal conditions but if you live in a small, centrally-heated flat, you'll have to put up with the price rise. Ironically, because of the heating it is during winter that most damage is done.
If I can keep up the resolve in a couple of years time I won't be drinking beyond my means. That will make a nice change.
© 1995 THE SUNDAY AGE