The Auswine Forum

Is there a basic difference between the American palate and its Oz counterpart?


I've been thinking about this one for a while,mainly as a result of having the occasional lurk around the Mark Squires board at various times. It's a bit hard to put my thought together coherently,because there was so much stimuli for it,but basically,the Dr Peppers and Vegemite analogy seems to fit the bill for my argument.

Just reading through the posts in reference to Australia,you get to read things like this,
"I don't usually like Australian Shiraz,but.......", followed by a reference to an Australian wine that I have never tasted (Shirvington, Marquis Phillips etc) or even seen ,for that matter.

There seems to be an opinion (amongst the posters there,at least) that Australian red wine is sweet,oaky and alcoholic,one dimensional and somewhat boring.(It seems that cool climate shiraz/cabs are as scarce as hens teeth). But it also seems apparent to me that these styles of wine are what they are being pushed into,given the fact that a lot of these wines are export only labels.(Jeremy Oliver made a post where he said he was refused samples for review of some export only wines because they didn't want him to review their wines!) I know that much of this is driven by the Parker phenomenon and his predilection for "Big" wines,but the fact again that most of these wines are in great demand also establishes that their taste pleases plenty of people.

I'm not going to suggest that there is homogeny across the whole population in regard to taste,but is this push to create a style of wine for an individual market (US) a sign that there is a difference in our sweet/savoury response or is it just a fad that will run its course like all others? Interested in your thoughts.


(AND it bugs me that our all wines are getting tarred with the same brush in relation to lack of individuality!!!)


Cheers

I have a theory that Australian red wines are called for being sweet when in reality, they're just clean. Nothing like bret/TCA/VA to kill what little ripe fruit character that may have been there. When it comes to food and drink in general, I was always of the impression that Americans had a generally higher tollerance for sweetness (how they can eat that white bread, I don't know). Perhaps it's just human nature to make sweeping generalisations, but describing all Australian red wines as 'sweet, oaky and alcoholic' points to a degree of ignorance that makes a lot of Australians uncomfortable.

Grant Dodd wrote:Is there a basic difference between the American palate and its Oz counterpart?

Just reading through the posts in reference to Australia,you get to read things like this,
"I don't usually like Australian Shiraz,but.......", followed by a reference to an Australian wine that I have never tasted (Shirvington, Marquis Phillips etc) or even seen ,for that matter.



(AND it bugs me that our all wines are getting tarred with the same brush in relation to lack of individuality!!!)


Cheers

I lurk there too, and am getting very annoyed that its almost fashionable to knock Aussie wines, say you don't own them etc etc, and certainly judge all the wines by Shirvington/Marquis Phillips standards.

I can't re call the last discussion of Coonawarra Cabernet, or Margaret River, and great Riesling is a mystery to them.

Very annoying

I don't burst in and say so as I'm a retailer so I post very carefully and sparingly.

However, I feel your frustration. The same board about two years ago was full of people raving too much about Burge Family, Fox Reserve, Greencok Creek, Three Rivers and how they loved them etc etc.

Fashion followers!

There, I feel better now.

Gavin,

Don't get me started on the "status symbol" stuff in the US. It drives me berserk. And it doesn't matter if you point out to the forum that the wines they are drinking are not available in Australia,that they are crafted to appeal specifically to the Parker palate and that they are not generally indicative of a country wide style- no one appears to want to hear that. I saw Gary Walsh repeatedly make this point on one thread to absolutely no avail,it was like no one bothered to read his reply......... ARGHHHHHHH !!!!!!!!!!

Grant Dodd wrote:I saw Gary Walsh repeatedly make this point on one thread to absolutely no avail,it was like no one bothered to read his reply......... ARGHHHHHHH !!!!!!!!!!

There is no one who is a blind as somone who wont open their eyes, there is no one as deaf as someone who refuses to listen and no one as dumb as someone who insists they know it all!

And the most closed minded are those that need a consultant to tell them what to think because they are too busy making money to do it for themselves.

Interesting topic and could be quite an insight.

I love vegimite, I spread it on thick and love the way it flows through a crumpet to dribble down my chin, and it is even better with melted, very mature, crumbly cheese and the absolute best thing for a hangover !

I hate Dr. Pepper and have always hated that artificial cherry taste. Its really big in the States isn't it ?

Any other things that are typically American that may point to cultural palatte differences ?

The "caricature" wines such as Marquis Phillips and Shirvington that the Yanks seem to love do unfortunately pigeon hole Aussie wines as sweet, fruity and alcoholic. I've been banging my head on the WS site for ages trying to convince people these are not the only expressions of Australian wine. Even commentators in the UK are bagging Aussie wines for being too consistently clean, fruity and simple!!! Yes, if you buy Jacobs Creek every day.
There is no doubt the success of the export market has its grounding in such wines, but the lack of commentary on wines other the South Aussie fruit bombs does get a little frustrating.

Here's to Vegemite !!!

Dig wrote:...When it comes to food and drink in general, I was always of the impression that Americans had a generally higher tollerance for sweetness (how they can eat that white bread, I don't know)...

This general higher tolerance for sweetness is actually confirmed by the Glycemic Index (GI) and Glycemic Load (GL) tests conducted by Sydney University for products manufactured both here & in the US.

These GI & GL tests are for diabetics and others who must watch their sugar consumption.

eg. CocaCola is sweeter in the USA & Asia, than in Australia

My source:
http://www.glycemicindex.com/

Vicki,

There Are makers in Australia and also Champagne that make special sweeter blends fore their wines for export to the USA. These carry the same labels as sold domestically which is something to be aware of when picking up a discounted case from a cancelled export order.

Murray wrote:...These carry the same labels as sold domestically which is something to be aware of when picking up a discounted case from a cancelled export order.

thanks for that info Murray