Wineries with the RIGHT attitude

[Ratcatcher]

Which wineries do you think have the right stuff?

ie: For me it's a commitment to quality whether it's their best red or their $8 quaffing white and while wanting to make a profit they are not just looking to gouge as much as they can out of their customers as quickly as possible.

For me the big companies that deliver are:

McWilliams, De Bortoli, and Tyrrells. I also think the Hardy and Yalumba labelled wines do the trick too. The Seppelt arm of Southcorp also seems to have the goods although prices are starting to get a bit pointy.

As far as small - medium producers go I like wineries like Sevenhill or Warrabilla whose standard wines are about $20 and are high quality and cellarable and who also have a premium wine or wines for under $40. If these companies can get their best fruit in the bottle and produce wines of these quality at that price why should anyone be charging over $60 or more to the point why would anyone be paying it?

[Raymond W]

I reckon Peter Lehmann does all right for its basic range of wines. I can get the whites for under 1,400 yen (A$15.50) and the reds for under 2,000yen (A$22) here in Japan. They offer very qpr for Aussie wines here in Japan.

[smithy]

Its largely a matter of distribution.
For wineries that sell a large part of their wine direct to the public, they can sell at a lower price than ifits going through several layers of resellers, especially if they incur a 29% WET tax as well inthe process.

ie its a matter of size as well.

Other factors include the size of the debt (if any) which they are trying to service, and the size of the organisation they are trying to support...I've seen little wineries with heaps of people working for them with Champagne tastes......I wouldn't think that applies to Sevenhill!

Lastly, as I'd say that as a guardian of the style, its about a contract we have with our customers, its about having the Right Stuff inside as well!

Cheers
Smithy

[darby]

We consumers never had it so good!

There are just so many wineries around now and a bit of a surplus of wine so we really have nothing to complain about. If a winery puts its prices up, just move on and find something better and cheaper, you usually can with a little effort.

Like all businesses wineries need to recoup their costs and their prices are a factor in this. They have much less freedom than consumers.

In the long run consumer choice determines what we are offered and I reckon it is in our long term interests to support smaller wineries to maintain choice. Once they put their prices up beyond what you are comfortable paying, move on. They no longer need your help, and you can easily find a substitute. You can still buy a bottle, or pull one from your cellar for a special occasion.

[Mike Hawkins]

Darby,

I agree with your sentiments to a point - especially at the lower and mid priced wines. At the very top end, quality and/or price wise, it doesn't always hold true. When one looks at the percentage of average wage to buy say Grange, HOG et al in 1990 compared to today, there is no doubt in my mind we dont have it so good today.

Mike

[MG]

Agreed. In relative terms I probably earn roughly what my father did when he was my age, yet he was able to buy a half case of Grange in the early 1970s. If I tried to do that now, I wouldn't be able to eat for two months.