One Dimensional Wine

The revolution in the wine industry did not start when grape growers used chemicals to protect healthy fruit against all sorts of natural enemies. Neither did it start when mineral fertiliser was used in place of cow manure; it started when wine was sold as a brand and not as the product of a vineyard.

Brand names such as Blue Nun, Black Tower and Mateus Rose were the beginnings of a development, which has increasingly seen the side-lining of estate wines. What significance does this have and what are the differences between the two types of wine? Very briefly, branded wine is a product manufactured in such a way to ensure it always tastes the same. An estate wine, on the other hand, is made from grapes actually grown on the estate and will show a difference due to the location of the vineyard, the weather conditions that prevailed in a certain year and even the wine maker.

The advantage of branded wine to the consumer is that the buyer can be certain that what he or she buys will taste the same every time they open a bottle. Brands such as Lindemans, Jacob’s Creek and Bend in the River build up their reputation by offering consistent quality at a low price. The way this is achieved is in the laboratory. The grapes are bought in and the product is manipulated until it tastes according to what the brand stands for. If you buy a bottle of Coke you expect Coke and not Pepsi.

On the other hand an estate wine is produced with the grapes grown in its vineyards; it expresses the character of the soil, the conditions of the weather and the grape varieties used. A Chablis tastes very different to a Chardonnay from a few miles further south in Burgundy, although they are both produced from the same grape. They could be manipulated in a laboratory to taste the same, but that is precisely the point: instead they show the character of their origin.

There is no denying that the risk to the wine buyer is bigger when buying an estate wine than a branded wine because the wine from an estate might not taste exactly the same as the last bottle you drank.

This leads us to an interesting question: does it matter to us, the wine drinker, to know where the grapes come from? Who harvested them? How were they grown and tended? Or is this merely unimportant information distracting from the end result - the wine you pour into your glass? Does the end justify the means, or is the journey the goal?

In fact this is a question that goes way beyond wine buying. We, the consumer, have to decide when we do our shopping whether to choose organic or conventional. Every time we buy organic and fair trade goods we make a conscious decision that it is not just the result that matters to us but the way things are produced. This attitude is not very popular at the moment. Convenience food, the cheaper the better is in; animal rights, environmental questions, even health aspects are all regarded as secondary considerations in this time of financial crisis. Let there be light again at the end of the tunnel and we will then again consider saving the world.

In this respect the fact that branded wine is pushing estate, and even more so organic and biodynamic, wines off the shelves is a reflection on the society we live in. Branded wine is cool and any other consideration is unimportant. It is one dimensional.

When I plead here for diversity and individuality in wine it is equally a plea for conscious consumption. We have had consumerism for the last number of years. Now it is time for consumer consciousness. It is time to ask questions about the origin of our food and drink.