▻ Omnibus Fourth Edition
Episode Four
Episode Summary:-
In our fourth edition of Omnibus, Sarah Kemp welcomes Huon Hooke, Australia’s leading wine writer, to the show. Huon discusses the extreme weather conditions Australia has been suffering, from bush fires to floods, and how they have affected the current vintages. He also names the region and wineries he is most excited about-watch out for some new names… Xavier Rousset, London’s dynamic restaurateur, talks about the new app he and his business partner Gearoid Devaney have launched, TRADE Hospitality, and also predicts that 20-25% of London restaurants won’t reopen, in the wake of the virus lockdowns . . . Elin McCoy, US Editor, tackles the issue of “Sustainability.” While it is seen on many wineries’ back labels, the definition is somewhat wishy-washy. Elin pins down what Sustainability really means, and reveals who is at the forefront of the movement. . . John Stimpfig looks at the month’s main news stories, the new scholarship set up for the BAME community in honour of the late sommelier Gerard Basset, and Penfold’s launch of its California Collection, including two of its wines which are blends of Californian and Australian fruit. . . Finally, and poignantly, Elin McCoy looks back at how Steven Spurrier, who recently died, changed the face of wine in America forever.
““We are a very resilient lot, winegrowers are generally very resilient. They are stoic people, they are men and women of the earth.” ”
Running Order:-
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0.00 – 11.39
“There’s California sun and California soil, but everything in between is Penfolds.” Peter Gago
John Stimpfig and Sarah Kemp discuss the latest wine news. First up is the news that Association de la Sommellerie Internationale (ASI) in Paris has awarded the first Gérard Basset Lifetime Achievement Award to Serge Dubs of the Auberge de L’Ill. John also talks about the launch of the Golden Vines awards by Liquid Icons (founded by the late Gérard Basset and Lewis Chester), which will raise funds for diversity scholarships enabling black and ethnic-minority students to study for the prestigious Master of Wine and Master Sommelier programmes.
The major wine news this month comes from Penfolds, which has launched its Californian Collection, US wines made by Penfolds in California. Since 2017, Treasury Wine Estates, which owns Penfolds, has had access to fruit from some of California’s finest estates, including Beringer, Beaulieu, Sterling Vineyards, and Etude. There are four wines in the range, from £45 a bottle to £550 a bottle. John explains how two of the wines are a mix of California and Australian grapes, making them “wines of the world,” according to winemaker Peter Gago. -
13.09 – 18.44
“Well, people love a good story where underdogs win, and what happened 40 years ago reminded people, as Steven always did, to follow your dreams.”
Elin McCoy looks at the impact Steven Spurrier, who died this March, had on the US wine scene. Warren Winiarski of Stag Leap Wine Cellars, the winner of the red wine group at the Judgement of Paris tasting, said, “Just as no one could look at the sun and the stars in the same way after Copernicus, we could never look at wine in America in the same way after the Paris tasting. It proved beautiful wine could be made outside of France.” Elin talks about how the tasting Steven organised gave immediate respectability to the California wine industry and had surprisingly wide consequences for American vintners and drinkers. There was an explosion of boutique wineries between 1976 and 1986, while it taught American consumers to become wine drinkers. -
18.44 – 25.40
“20 to 25% of London restaurants might not re-open.” Xavier Rousset
Sarah Kemp talks to Xavier Rousset, sommelier turned dynamic restaurateur, about the resilience of the hospitality industry during the Covid pandemic. They discuss the new app TRADE Hospitality, which he has launched with his partner Gearoid Devaney to help out the hospitality community, which has been so badly hit by the pandemic. TRADE Hospitality is free to anyone who can prove they work within the trade. Benefits include a job board, flat-share notices, discounts on meals, latest news and more; since it was launched in mid-December it has attracted over 1000 members. -
25.40 – 40.00
“I’m so excited about the quality coming out of Tasmania.” Huon Hooke
Huon Hooke, wine columnist for the Sydney Morning Herald for 38 years, and publisher of www.realreview.com, his own subscription site, talks to Sarah Kemp about the current Australian wine scene. They discuss the extreme weather conditions Australia has been experiencing, from bush fires to recent floods, and how this is affecting the wine styles produced. Currently the 2021 vintage is “even wetter than the 2011 vintage, which was the wettest and dampest ripening period for a very long time.”
Tasmania is the region Huon reveals he is most excited about. “It’s really coming into its own,” he says. It used to be a small cottage industry but now people are starting to export. While it is less than one per cent of Australia’s total volume, it is more important in terms of quality and price. He recommends Pooley Wines in the Coal River Valley with their single vineyard Pinots as a must-try.
Huon’s other recommendations include Swinney Vineyards in the Frankland River District for their Syrah, Grenache and GSM; Hickinbotham in the McClaren Vale, owned by Jackson Family Wines, where California Cabernet Specialist Christopher Carpenter comes over to make “sensational Cabernet and Cabernet/Shiraz blends.” In the Barossa Valley, Huon picks Alex Head of Head Wines for his “elegant fresh modern Barossa wines.” -
40.01 – 1.03.00
“Sustainability suggests you just have to keep on going, doing what you are doing, sustaining the past--in fact we need a revolution. We need to abandon the whole idea that you should constantly be seeking growth. Pretty radical idea today.”
US Editor Elin McCoy has just been chairing panels at the Wine Future 2021 Conference. The subject which was present in every panel in one shape or another was sustainability in the face of climate change. Sarah asks her about the meaning of sustainability, and Elin explains that “it’s a problematical term,” as it implies keeping going doing what you are doing, when in fact as Nigel Greening of Felton Road explained at the conference, “you need a radical revolution.” Part of the issue is that there is no single list of specific regulations or practices wineries have to adhere to in order to call yourself sustainable.
Today, there are three different aspects of sustainability. The Environment (protecting the vineyard, carbon footprint, and energy conservation); Social sustainability (how to you treat your workers), and Financial sustainability (if you are not financially viable, the first two points don’t matter.)
Elin discusses some of the leaders of the movement and singles out Miguel Torres as the first person to openly discuss the subject. She reveals that Bordeaux is quite advanced: the CIVB launched their carbon footprint assessment back in 2008, and Ch Montrose has 3000 square meters of solar panels, producing so much energy that they sell it back to the government. Ch Smith Haut Lafitte and Ch Dauzac are also highly active with sustainability programmes.
Elin concludes by taking a look at some of the new initiatives, including electric tractors, luxury packaging, bees and bats being introduced into vineyards, and lighter containers for wine, including cans.
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Further information:-
For bursary enquiries www.liquidicons.com
Trade Hospitality app membership www.tradehospitality.co.uk
To subscribe to Huon Hooke’s site www.therealreview.com – highly recommended for Australian recommendations from Huon and New Zealand recommendations from Bob Campbell MW.
Huon’s recommended wineries:
The second part of our deep-dive into Bordeaux 2023 – a vintage Bordeaux lovers will love.