Tim's Ravings

There is a popular phrase among wine lovers that ‘great wines are made in the vineyard’.

It’s a flippant aside that bends reality, because the vineyard is just the beginning of a very complex and treacherous journey to bottle.

The analogy is that of a Car Racing Team. Having a great driver is only the start; without a great engine, tyres, flash looking computer thingies and a great support team, the engine is just a very expensive heap of junk that would give the Top Gear TV show team much fun and merriment.

Britain's ‘next big thing’ Lewis Hamilton, last years Formular One champ and this years Formular One champ is a case in point. He’s clearly a great driver but his car this year is a dog. The expensive heap of junk under him is the equivalent of a poorly managed vineyard on unsuitable soils in a poor climate.

Discussing this issue with a winemaker for a multi-national wine company, he jokingly expressed surprise at the notion of vineyards, saying ‘But grapes come from trucks don’t they?’. It is a view as equally illogical as the increasing number of Cellar Doors who grow their fruit only then simply send their fruit away to a contract winemaker who has never seen the vineyard and have the wine returned a year or two later in bottle.

You will too-sparingly see the words ‘Estate Grown, Made and Bottled’ on wine labels. The phrase proves a strong commitment by that winery to build its own ‘racing car’.

Getting the wine through the intricate process of winemaking – from nurturing the vines to making and getting the wine safely into bottle – involves hundreds of difficult decisions and actions by an experienced team committed to its goals. To get everything right requires strict discipline and skill. Most decisions have the potential for either vinous slaughter or glory.

Next time you are choosing a wine look out for ‘Estate Grown, Made and Bottled’ because it is evidence of commitment and passion. Huntington Estate is celebrating our 40th birthday this year and this tagline has appeared throughout our life – its one of the secrets to our survival. You wouldn’t see Lewis Hamilton jumping on ebay to try to find his car and team for next years championship.