Monday, December 13, 2010

Think Global, Drink Local

In my column in The Weekend Australian Magazine in late 2008 I started a campaign urging Australians to drink more Australian wine to counter the surge in imported wines. I called my campaign DrinkUp!; I talked about printing t-shirts with the slogans ‘Drink Australian Made’ and ‘Think Global, Drink Local’; I resolved to lay off French champagne and Marlborough sav blanc in the new year, and only drink Aussie.

I never got those t-shirts printed, of course, because I was only half serious. Winemaker Stephen Pannell, by contrast, is completely serious.

Pannell recently launched a very real web site called All For One Wine inviting fellow winemakers, retailers, sommeliers and ordinary, everyday winelovers to make a pledge to only drink Australian from January 1 until Australia Day.

(Disclosure: I helped scribble some words for the launch of the site and was one of the first to pledge - but this probably won’t come as a surprise to you.)

Pannell was motivated by the fact that, while Australian exports and domestic sales are sluggish, imports grew by almost 19 per cent in the last quarter. He was also frustrated by how besotted many Australian sommeliers and winemakers and wine show judges have become with exotic Europeans, at the expense of our own best bottles. The cultural cringe appears to be thriving in certain sectors of the wine community - hence All For One.

You would think, wouldn’t you, that a push to get Aussies to drink Aussie for a few days would be greeted with open arms, hearts and mouths. And on the whole the reaction has been positive: more than 1,000 people have already pledged. But All For One Wine has also incited a virulent backlash in some quarters.

The Kiwis, for example aren’t very happy at all (predictably, really), and have slammed the initiative as a ‘myopic’ boycott. More surprising has been the reaction from some local winemakers and bloggers, calling All For One Wine naive protectionism and worse. Indeed, for a while there after the web site was launched, a Twitstorm of arguments and accusations raged across the interwebs, with some people (including your correspondent) getting quite hot under the collar about the whole thing.

Which I suppose is the best possible outcome: it’s about time someone rattled the cage and stirred up impassioned debate about the future of Australian wine.

To make the pledge, click here.

8 comments:

  1. Hi Max,

    Virulent backlash? I must have missed something as the myriad arguments opposing the boycott (yes, a boycott is a boycott no matter how much spin is used) have been at worst, inflamed or impassioned. You obviously have strong opinions regarding the campaign, and, if i can speak for a few like-minded wine lovers, i respect those opinions while noting I haven’t heard a single detraction regarding the campaign’s aim to inspire & raise the profile of Australia’s best wines. This I suppose is the crux of the matter. To say you have been surprised by the (negative) reaction to AFOW seems disingenuous; from where im standing (as a wine lover, importer and flaming liberal) the real negative has been the over-reaction to so called dissent from a campaign HQ mired in passion before reason. The constant accusations of ‘cultural-cringe’, the repetitive cries that our sommeliers and wine judges are willing victims of wine fashion not only grate but are equally insulting. Just as flawed is the idea that in order to celebrate domestic wine we have to prohibit drinking imported wine.

    A campaign to support the domestic wine scene and celebrate the good, the great, the upcoming and future makers is one that every Australian could support. A campaign the enlighten consumers, both at home and abroad, and trade alike, of the diversity and dynamism of the Australian wine scene, well everyone can drink to that. A campaign seeming borne out of frustration and whose chief protagonists seemingly refuse to respect even the idea of reasoned counter-argument? That’s leaves a bone in my throat.

    Along with many of those who have voiced their disappointment of how the campaign has been introduced, I will continue, in my own little way, to support the local grower, winemaker and industry, irrespective of their advocacy on this debate. I also sincerely hope that those AFOW pledges find what they are looking for and this translates to something close to Mr Pannells goal. Why it took a boycott to get to the end result is a question that I fear may never be fully considered.

    Best regards,

    Nic Moghabghab
    nic@heartandsoil.com.au

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  2. Hello Nic

    Have you looked at the newly-expanded AFOW site? Far from 'refusing to respect reasoned counter-argument' the Media section of the site has links to articles both for and against the campaign - and a forum is being added to the site soon.

    Max

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  3. Thanks for the heads up. I’d better call of the Fed Sq effigy burning protest, then hadn’t I? :)

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  4. Thanks Max.

    Ok. I've gone over the articles and while they obviously reason conflicting stance & feeling, I’m sure you'll agree, there is little in the way of debate going on here. So, I'll ask you, as a chief protagonist in the AFOW movement, and in a more direct fashion; why, in order to celebrate domestic wine do you feel we (or even just yourself) need to boycott drinking imported wine? I’m honestly curious. Humour me.

    Nic Moghabghab
    nic@heartandsoil.com.au

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  5. Hey, Nic

    It's a personal challenge. I'm also doing FebFast (again) - giving up the grog for the month of February - for the same reasons: just to see if I bloody well can. As you know, I love the imported gear as much as the next warm-blooded Aussie wine nerd: in fact, i would argue that I'm a bit of an obsessive deviant when it comes to foreign booze - all those rustic Corbieres and southern Italian funky whites and obscure Greek varietals ... I love 'em, you know I do, and I think it's really, really important that Australian winegrowers and drinkers seek out these wines and try them and think about how they can perhaps explore the potential of these styles and varieties in our own backyard ... BUT I also reckon that engaging in a couple of weeks of self-imposed deprivation from such exotic wines could be enormously helpful in focussing the mind and thinking HARDER about the varieties we do grow here, the wine styles we do make, and the market you, the wine trade, have or haven't - created for them ...

    Max

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  6. Thanks Max,

    Im 98 on that. Apologies for putting you on the spot though I never doubted your passion and belief that AFOW is an important milestone for the industry, as i’m sure you understand I feel bound to probe and question whether a boycott is the best means to an end for the local industry. Perhaps stubbornly, I will continue to ask for answers from those who’s pledge seems a little more contrived or anachronistic than your own, however, I also hope the majority of pledges share your positive outlook and have signed up for reason similar to those you have outlined above.

    Best regards,

    Nic Moghabghab
    nic@heartandsoil.com.au

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  7. All this seems rather high falutin'' to me. What's wrong with Australians wanting to just support the Aussie wine industry anyway. As far as I am concerned drinking aussie wines' fir 26 days doesn't present any problems. I'm happy to do it!

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  8. Are you paying over $5 per pack of cigarettes? I buy my cigarettes at Duty Free Depot and I'm saving over 50% from cigs.

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