Wendouree 2021 Mailer

[Mahmoud Ali]

It's a bit like the retail game...retailers have to buy a Piedmont importer's meh wines like Barbera in order to get the cru Barolo.

First off, I don't consider Barbera to be a "meh" wine. Secondly, a good Barolo producer likely makes a good Barbera as well. And don't forget, some of the fuller Barberas do age very well.

Mahmoud.

[tarija]

It's a bit like the retail game...retailers have to buy a Piedmont importer's meh wines like Barbera in order to get the cru Barolo.

First off, I don't consider Barbera to be a "meh" wine. Secondly, a good Barolo producer likely makes a good Barbera as well. And don't forget, some of the fuller Barberas do age very well.

Mahmoud.

That's fine that you don't consider Barbera a "meh" wine. I do, but both our views on it don't matter.

Whatever your view on Barbera is, Barbera is not as popular in a Barolo producer's portfolio as the Barolo, in much the same way as the Muscat of Alexandria is not as popular as the Shiraz for Wendouree. The point is that the lesser wines usually have to be ordered to get access to the preferred wines.

[JamieBahrain]

I understood your point btw. You could have said Dolcetto or Gavi and still have seen somebody object.

Not sure if we’ve mentioned it this year? I still don’t get the flipper logic so the first run of flippers could well be the Wendouree grape pickers. Rewarded with Wendouree wine, perhaps in excess of what’s wanted, seems a valid explanation to early flipping evidence at auction.

[phillisc]

I understood your point btw. You could have said Dolcetto or Gavi and still have seen somebody object.

Not sure if we’ve mentioned it this year? I still don’t get the flipper logic so the first run of flippers could well be the Wendouree grape pickers. Rewarded with Wendouree wine, perhaps in excess of what’s wanted, seems a valid explanation to early flipping evidence at auction.

I know you have mentioned this before but how long would it take to pick 22 acres (IIRC or whatever it is), when an annual make across 6 reds in an average year might be 2000 cases? Paying pickers in wine seems like a good deal, not sure what the cash daily rate/per bottle equivalent works out to. Still, would there not be some attachment in keeping something, you spent all day doing...or doesn't it matter?
Perhaps the Brady's see it as being a very economical option, paying someone with what essentially is 86% water!

I am surprised that there are routinely unopened six packs of Shiraz on the secondary market post-release. What drives the average punter to flip 6 bottles of a wine that they might not get to try...don't understand it, if that's their total allocation. Or is it retailers who are the flippers, was staggered to see a couple of years back how many cases an inner southern pub in Adelaide had stacked 'out the back'. Equally, the allocation to the Adelaide Club is rather voluminous too, perhaps those who get a dozen or more, send them on.

Who knows, but all part of the Wendouree lottery, which after three decades looks increasingly challenging.

Cheers Craig