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UNIFORMITY IN AUSTRALIAN WINES.


This is a subject the importance of which cannot be over estimated. And
it is one markedly calling for consideration, as there have been, and
still are, grounds for complaint in this direction. It will be
advisable, therefore, to look well into the question, because it will
amply repay the trouble bestowed upon it. First of all, then, let us
refer to the remarks of Mr. Francois de Castella, the author of the
Handbook on Viticulture for Victoria. He points out that in each
district there will be one class of wine which will surpass all others
in excellence, and that this is the type which the grower should
produce. All the vine-growers in any one district should endeavour to
make their wines of the type specially adapted for that particular
district; and of course the type will vary in different districts. In
this way, and only in this way, will it be possible for the public to
obtain an unvarying article.

At the present time there are in each district a number of wines
possessing various names, such as Hermitage, Shiraz, Carbenet,
Burgundy, Chasselas, Riesling, Tokay, &c., but these names actually
mean nothing. Each district should produce a different type of wine. A
Riesling from the Yarra and a Riesling from the Murray are as distinct
as Hock and Sherry. Mr. de Castella further advises that each vine-grower
should join the Vine-Growers' Association in his locality. In
this way the members of each district can agree amongst themselves to
produce one class of wine, or at most two--say one white and one red.
Instead of the same names being applied to entirely different wines,
the nine will come to be known by the name of the district in which it
is produced. One will then be able to have some idea of the contents of
a bottle, from the label upon it. At present the name on the bottle is
no indication whatever of the wine within; indeed, the same name is on
the outside of many totally distinct wines. This change must assuredly
come, and the sooner it does the better for Australian wines.

Mr. Pownall, in the course of his evidence before the Royal Commission
on Vegetable Products in Victoria, also drew attention to this
same want of uniformity. He believed that each vineyard ought to aim at
making a standard quality of wine, so that wine-merchants might know
what to expect from that vineyard. The wines throughout Australia
should likewise, as far as possible, bear uniform names. He stated that
he had met wines in various vineyards grown from the same grape, and
called by different names; and though this might seem a trivial matter,
yet it led to endless confusion. Moreover, it should not be permitted
to continue, especially as it could be so easily rectified.

It must be said, however, that at the Great Western district, in
Victoria, a start has been made in the right direction. A report on the
vineyards of that locality referred to the gratifying fact that a
marked tendency existed towards the adoption of a rational nomenclature
of wines. Many of the leading growers were confining themselves to one
red and one white wine. Some of them called their wine by the name of
the vineyard, adding the words Hock, Chablis, Claret, &c. after them.
This is unquestionably so far an improvement, and it is to be hoped
that before long the wine will be known by the name of the vineyard or
district, and by nothing else.

Mr. James Smith has also strongly insisted upon the supreme importance
of this uniformity, especially as regards the quality of the wine. And
this is perfectly true. The quality of any particular wine is solely
dependent upon the season, but the produce of any given vineyard should
surely possess, as he remarks, a distinctive CACHET, by which the
palate is enabled to recognise it. For instance, an expert would not
fail to distinguish between a Chateau Margaux and a Chateau Lafitte,
nor between a Chateau Latour and a Haut Brion. Notwithstanding the
different vintages, there is always a uniformity and continuity of
flavour maintained through all these great growths. But in the case of
our Australian wines there is a lamentable difference. Wines of
the same denomination and from the same grower DIFFER SO MATERIALLY one
year from those bearing a similar name, and coming from the same
cellar, in another, that it is difficult to believe they are the same.
As Mr. Smith justly observes, this is an unpardonable defect in the
estimation of connoisseurs; more especially such as attach themselves
to a particular kind of wine, and naturally drink it by preference.
Constancy of type should be unremittingly aimed at by the vigneron. And
this can only be possible by continuous attention to each individual
factor concerned in vine-growing and wine-making.