Industrial Swill

[Grant]

After seeing this term referred to often by RPj in his latest prognostication on the Australian wine industry, I was wondering which wines he was referring to. What qualifies as industrial swill?

Cheers

[n4sir]

Well I haven't seen the article to read exactly who he's referring to, but I'll try to come up with something with a few loose thoughts:

Over-cropped, young vine fruit = Fosters,
High alcohol/closed fermentation = Fosters,
Reverse Osmosis/Spinning Cone to reduce alcohol = Fosters,
Over-use of American oak, planks, chips, sawdust = Fosters,
Residual Sugar to boost quaffability = Fosters,
Crap Beer = Fosters.

On that logic I have absolutely no idea who he could mean!

Cheers,
Ian

[TORB]

Yellow Tail

[DaveB]

I don't think it's Yellow Tail.....the big bloke says this of YT ...."In some wine circles it is fashionable to criticize wines of this genre, but, if the truth be known, these are surprisingly well-made offerings"

There are a lot of wines that are not sold on these shores and are export only....flobbing off bulk wine and slapping on a nice Australian label and coining a witty name....the whooping wombat or something like that

Dave

[KMP]

I don't think we will ever know. He tasted over 3000 wines for this years report, of which about 70% were not recommended (that is over 2000). Considering the number of non-recommended wines I'd say a lot of the stuff he terms industrial swill are not made just for the US market - a lot are probably sold in Oz. Some of them may not even reach the USA, certainly not after he fails to give them the nod.

But what is more interesting is that I was told this past Saturday that the wineshop where I do most of my tastings will be tasting Clarendon Hills next Saturday - for $5USD. And I could be wrong but it seemed like Bratasiuk would be pouring. Only one wine got below 90 and that was a (88-90) barrel tasting of the 2004 Bakers Syrah. I wonder why Clarendon Hills is willing to pour wines for $5?

Mike.

[Andrew Jordan]

Maybe not Yellow Tail, but he was probably referring to a lot of the stuff that comes out of the Riverland region. Quoting RPJ about this region from TWA#161:

"... vast source of grapes of mediocre quality is dominated by huge cooperatives and producers who turn out Australia's jug wines and bag-in-the-box generic wines ... while most of these wines from this area are decidely insipid ... "

So going by this quote, wineries of the following calibre would probably be included in the "industrial swill" category:

Banrock Station
Lindeman's budget Bin range
ALL Animal label wines (excluding possibly Yellow Tail)
Black Opal
Penfolds cheaper labels (Rawson's Retreat, etc)

I am sure there are many more but do not want to embarass myself by admitting that I know the names.

[platinum]

Crap Beer = Fosters.

Ian

Dont know about this one

On a side note to this did anyone get a try of that super premium Cascade beer a couple of years ago that was about $90 a slab? It went very quite when it was supposed to be released. I wonder if it ever saw consumers?

[TORB]

Hi Dave,

In last years Oz edition of the WA Parker opens his review by saying “…. (producers in the ) wine industry are frightened of the potential that exists in Australia, not only for the limited production, world-class reds, but for their industrial farming techniques, which to the chagrin of Australia’s more established competitors, has resulted in easy-going, quaffable consumer-friendly offerings ….. etc.” Parker then proceeds to wax lyrical on Yellow Tail, how good the wine is for the price and even uses terms like “cleverly fashioned, palatable offering” and “consumers enjoy it because it offers easy drinking and is fairly priced.”

From memory, it was in a paragraph about industrial swill.

[marsalla]

the thing about the lowest quality Australian wine is that it gets exported, wheras in the rest of the wine world it is consumed domestically, think france, italy, spain etc etc, very little of the lower end gets exported by these countries, which is why everyone bags ours, bedause they havent seen how woeful the competition is.

THere is also an idea of australian vineyards and winemaking in europe that is way out of line with reality. I was told that there are vineyards in Australia that are never touched by human hand from day one, ie everything is done by robots, just ridiculous stuff, and the perception of wineries is worse.

cheers

[TORB]

Dave,

When I got home I found the exact quote from Parker (on page 2 of Issue 155 of WA.)

It says ".... it (Yellow Tail) is a cleverly fashioned, palatable offering with considerable residual sugar. However, it does not taste overly sweet because it has been put together with enough acidity to balance of the sugar. There is no question it is an industrial wine that is the antithesis.....

[Maximus]

On a side note to this did anyone get a try of that super premium Cascade beer a couple of years ago that was about $90 a slab? It went very quite when it was supposed to be released. I wonder if it ever saw consumers?

Platinum,

Do you mean the Cascade "First Harvest"? A 4pack for $20, or there abouts? It was rare stuff, hard to find, and sold out in no time. Luckily I was working at a liquor store at the time. It was a great beer; not the sort of thing you'd take to a party and down a dozen of, but perfect for savouring on the back porch after a hard day's work. Quite hoppy from memory, with a bitter aftertaste. That's about all the beer tasting prowess I have!

[cranky]

Re: First Harvest...

I got a 4 pack of the newly released 2005 vintage last week. Priced at $4.95 each, but 4 on special at $13.95. Had one so far - very much an ale, quite intense and full flavoured, better once it got a bit warmer than fridge temp.
I will have to leave the others to try at intervals of a few months to see how it ages.


Re: Industrial swill...

If there are 2 million cases of a wine produced per year, it would have to been done industrially, wouldn't it?

I noticed that McGuigan hasn't made any of the lists so far... The black label merlot is similar in many ways to a mass-produced cola beverage.

[Ian S]

Very typical of all wine critics, not just Parker

i.e. they'll talk of industrial swill wines, but they're not prepared to name them.

Treat it as the lazy throwaway comment it is, or ask him to name the wines.

[TORB]

Treat it as the lazy throwaway comment it is, or ask him to name the wines.

Whilst I don't disgaree with your comments ... lets see 70% of 3,230 = .... a bloody big list.

[Golf&PinotNut]

I can tell you that I can walk across the street to the local grocery store and pick up at least five different Australian wines that I would consider "industrial swill." It is amazing to me how many wines that have been trying to follow in the steps of Yellow Tail. It seems that all you need on the label is a fuzzy animal, a boomerang, or something that looks like aboriginal art, (or a combination of the three) and the American housewife will buy it.

I saw "Yellow Tail Reserve" the other day -- wonder what that means -- they only produce 500,00 cases?

[KMP]

IÂ’ve tasted some of the cheaper end (around $10USD and below) Aussie Shiraz. While most are fairly ordinary wines some are quite good value. The least impressive was the 2003 LennardÂ’s Crossing Shiraz (cost not recorded but definitely less that $10USD). Something like the 2003 Nugan Estate Shiraz offers very good value. IÂ’d have bought more after I tasted the single bottle I bought but it was all sold out. In San Diego the quality of Aussie Shiraz that is available improves above $12USD but wines around the $15 mark can be pretty variable. Above $20 starts getting into the quality I can appreciate. But most buyers are not looking to pay $20 or more per bottle.

Jip Jip Rocks Limestone Coast Shiraz 2004 $7.99USD (Screwcap)
Cherry red with red edge. Attractive sweet, ripe fruit aromas together with pepper and a little ethyl acetate (EA). Full bodied with sweet oak, fine tannins, overt, juicy acidity and a short finish. Reasonabe value for the price. 2, 2, 3.9, 9.7 = 17.6/20, 88/100. 15% alcohol. Tasted November 6, 2005.

Nugan Estate Shiraz 2003 $8.99USD (Screwcap)
Light cherry red with a pink edge. A reductive character initially that gave way to spicy, peppery aromas more typical of Pinot Noir than Australian Shiraz. Full bodied with pleasant mouthfeel. The subtle fruit characters and very soft tannins are balanced by clean acidity. A nicely structured wine providing very impressive value. Highly recommended for every day drinking. 2, 2, 3.9, 9.9 = 17,8/20, 89/100. 13.5% alcohol. Tasted October 26, 2005.

Casella Wines yellow tail Reserve Shiraz 2003 $9.99USD (French Oak)
Dense cherry red with red edge. Big, sweet blackberry jam turning to tomato paste and then toasted oak and pepper. Flavors developed nicely over 60-90 minutes. Medium weight with soft tannins and bright acidity. Tasted at 24 and again at 48 hours the wine retained its distinctive blackberry flavor. A well balanced pleasant wine that should hold up for the next 3-5 years, and perhaps longer. 2, 2, 3.8, 9.5 = 17.3/20, 86/100. Tasted October 24-26, 2005.

LennardÂ’s Crossing Shiraz 2003 (Pokolbin, NSW) Cost?
Light cherry red with pink edge. Sulfur stink over dusty oak, spices and licorice. Medium weight with soft tannins, a sour acidic finish and residual sweetness of strawberries. Little to recommend it. 2, 2, 3.5, 8.7=16.2/20, 81/100. 13.5% alcohol. Tasted May 26, 2005.

Rosemount Estate Shiraz 2002 (Diamond label) $6.99USD
Cherry red with red edge. Notes of blueberry, sweet vanilla oak and nail polish (EA). Full bodied with soft tannins and pronounced acidity. Well made, and while not distinctive still excellent value. 2, 2, 3.7, 9.5 = 17.2/20, 86/100. 14% alcohol. Tasted May 19, 2005.

PenfoldÂ’s Thomas Hyland Shiraz 2002 $10.99USD
Cherry red with pink edge. Sweet oak, plum and pepper notes. Full bodied but quite non-descript across the palate. A wine of little complexity or depth. Flavors do not carry well onto the palate and the finish is very short. At 24 hours there was little change. 2, 2, 3.5, 9.0 = 16.5/20, 82/100. 14.5% alcohol. Tasted May 14-15, 2005.

Kirralaa Bushvine Shiraz 2002 $10.99USD
Pronounced KEERA-lah which is Australian aboriginal for star. This wine is a joint effort between Robert Oatley, founder of Rosemount Estate and Robert Mondavi, founder of Robert Mondavi .
Dense cherry red with red edge. Sweet, ripe fruit, vanilla oak, cherries and pepper. Almost overly aromatic. Medium to full bodied with good retention of flavors onto the palate but very disjointed with sharp acidity and an abbreviated finish. Developed a toasted note with time. At 24 hours there was more presence of flavors on the palate but the oak is too pronounced. 2, 2, 3.6, 9.0 = 16.6/20, 83/100. 14.5% alcohol. May 10-11, 2005.

Paringa Individual Vineyard Shiraz 2002 $7.99USD
Dense cherry red with red edge. Blackberry and vanilla oak. Ripeness without excitement. Full bodied, pleasantly soft tannins and good acidity. Fades on the midpalate to an unpleasant bitterness. 2, 2, 3.6, 8.5 = 16.4/20, 82/100. 145 alcohol. Tasted March 29, 2005.


Mike

[707]

But what is more interesting is that I was told this past Saturday that the wineshop where I do most of my tastings will be tasting Clarendon Hills next Saturday - for $5USD. And I could be wrong but it seemed like Bratasiuk would be pouring. Mike.

You want to hope that Roman Brat isn't pouring, the most arrogant and unfriendly winemaker I've ever encountered bar none, he's always been that way, we knew him before he made wine too.

Made me think about the other end of the scale and how genuinely friendly and accomodating guys like Wayne Dutschke, Reid Bosward (Kaesler), Troy Kalleske, Damian Tscharke (Glaymond) etc are and why Roman needs to be so prickly.

[707]

After seeing this term referred to often by RPj in his latest prognostication on the Australian wine industry, I was wondering which wines he was referring to. What qualifies as industrial swill?
Cheers

I think RPJ is less than enamoured with the wines from our biggest companies, then again that reflects how I feel. I buy almost exclusively from small producers now, they make the best and most interesting wines.

[DaveB]

Dave,

When I got home I found the exact quote from Parker (on page 2 of Issue 155 of WA.)

It says ".... it (Yellow Tail) is a cleverly fashioned, palatable offering with considerable residual sugar. However, it does not taste overly sweet because it has been put together with enough acidity to balance of the sugar. There is no question it is an industrial wine that is the antithesis.....

Hi Ric,

I guess anything that is produced in millions of cases should be coined industrial swill ....in the notes that I saw yesterday I think he gave the '02 Reserve Cabernet 87 points and the standards around 83/84.....not sure of the production of the reserve though?

Cheers

Dave

[Davo]

Having just completed a 4 week lap of the UK and Ireland I can say with some confidence that I would prefer our industrial swill to that coming out of the continent any day of the week. And it is not cheap in the UK either.

[TORB]

I guess anything that is produced in millions of cases should be coined industrial swill ....in the notes that I saw yesterday I think he gave the '02 Reserve Cabernet 87 points and the standards around 83/84.....not sure of the production of the reserve though?

Hi Dave,

Agreed; but there is drinkable swill and undrinkable swill. Some, like Jacobs Creek Reserve (which is made in vast quantities) is certainly drinkable even if it is not a great wine, but some of those wines that are trotted out at weddings etc (with huge amounts of residual sugar) are, to me, undrinkable.

[GRB]

Liquorland had a buy 6 bottles get 20c off your fuel free deal a couple of weeks ago. I wondered in thinking I could pick up something, even if it was only 6 cheap xmas BBQ quaffers and save a couple of $ on fuel. Searched high and low and the only thing in the entire place I would actually drink were 02 Jacobs Reserve Shiraz $18 and 01 Orlando St Hugo $39 at those prices I would need nearly 200 litre of fuel to break even. I am guessing most of the liquor land wines would fit the catagory nicely.

GlenB