Syrah - Oz cultural cringe?

Martin, Is there any move afoot to change the name of "Port" coming from Australia? As you say, the practice has been gradually phased out with other wines ("Sauternes" for starters) this one seems to be hanging on.

Mark Lipton

Was it then cringing or an honest recognition, if not of roots, at least of grafting at a time when there was much more to be learnt from Europe than to teach?

You mean the lawyers, diplomats and politicians actually achieved something?

Just as well - we don't want any confusion between the two for the poor ignorant fellow who might buy the wrong one of the two and expect to get wine.

Thanks for the warning - I think I may stick to the Rhone with or without varietal labels.

Tim Hartley

Hi Mark - Australia has not been allowed to sell "ports, sherries, champagnes, sauternes etc overseas for years. But yes - In Australia some brands already call tawny ports "tawny". Chambers "tokay" will become (fortified) muscadelle. Botrytised or "noble" replace sauternes and so forth. There will be awkward names like "sweet fortified cabernet sauvignon" etc. Sherries will I guess will become finos and amontillados etc. A marketing nightmare but long overdue. Cheers! Martin

Points well taken Tim. Understandably early Oz winemakers used terms familiar to them from their homelands to describe their pioneering efforts - as also happened in other new world areas - eg South Africa, America, South America. In Australia the problem of passing off Oz wines with European names was well-recognised in the very early 1900s. Oz winemakers were too lazy to do anything about it until forced to do so nearly a century later. Cheers! Martin

I find that the Oz port styles - vintage and tawny - most palatable but they are not port. If you want to experience one of the great styles in the world lash out a few dollars on a Portuguese vintage port from one of the well-known houses. Sublime and unforgettable. On the other hand if you want a great shiraz (sorry syrah!) try an upmarket one from Australia.

Cheers! Martin

Martin, No doubt that is true in the EU, but here in the US wineries from Oz still *do* market "Ports." Just last week I tasted a NV Penfolds CLUB Tawny Port (not likely to displace some of the wonderful Rutherglen Muscats and "Tokay"s from my affections, though).

Mark Lipton

Isn't it the case that the term "Oporto" is now the reserved term for the wine formerly known as Port, and that the "port" designator is pretty much free game now?

pavane

No. "Oporto" is the city's name ("The Port"). "Porto" ist the wine term. "Porto" is 100% protected.

No. It's still in litigation. But until it has been ruled out, some/many (don't know exactly) Portuguese Port houses decided to label their products as "Porto".

M.

Mark,

When I posed just the same question to an Aussie winemaker, his answer was two part:

2.) port-styled wines intended for OZ/US market, without constraints of EU owners, board members, would continue to use the term, until the courts decided otherwise.

It sounded OK to me, as I began seeing OZ port-styled wines with different names, but the same bottle, wine, and mostly same label.

Any Aussie distributors know for sure?

Hunt

Salut/Hi Martin Field,

I refrained from biting when I got "e-Vine" but...

le/on Sat, 4 Feb 2006 21:06:25 +1100, tu disais/you said:-

I don't think either of you have put your finger on it. One of the most shameful aspects of UK/OZ trade was in respect of wines until the UK joined the Common Market.

Oz wine sellers were treated with an utterly cringe-worthy arrogance by wine buyers in the Uk. Caricaturing... "No I don't want to try you so-called Hermitage, your price for your burgundy has got to come down" (after keeping the guy waiting half the morning).

The Uk was the major market for Oz wines and what UK importers wanted was wines that they could sell as "Burgundy" "Port" and "Brown Sherry" to take three notorious examples. Wine making in Australia was completely deformed by this abuse. When the UK was obliged on entry into the Common Market (as it was known at the time) to tidy up its act, it simply dropped their import of Oz wines dead. Not a happy state of affairs.

So in my opinion the major reason some wines have these names is because of this UK imposed specialisation. I also suspect that one reason Oz winemakers don't want to change is out of a kind of rebellious refusal to give in to pressure from the bloody poms again. I don't really blame any resentment they may feel.

As for whether they _ought_ to keep them, of course they shouldn't. They're cutting themselves out of an important market and, I would suggest, boxing themselves into a corner.

As for Syrah and Shiraz. I think Martin is being both tongue in cheek and cynical. If the grape variety was _generally_ known throughout the english speaking world as "Plum" then by all means call it that. However, the name Syrah is as much the name of that grape in the English speaking world, as Pinot Noir is for THAT grape. It's not kowtowing to anybody to conform to accepted usage.

As to WHY marketroids are starting to call their excellent wines Syrah... I suspect that he's right, sadly. I very much doubt that it's out of some wish to conform, but because they hope to be able to sell it more expensively. That, of course would explode in their faces, if shiraz were dropped overnight throughout Oz in favour of Syrah.

Well, an Aussie icon has finally succumbed to the "right" way of labelling. Houghton's White Burgundy will be for ever now known as Classic Dry White.

The Port/Muscat/Tokay issue is another story. Marketers are scraching their heads wondering what the heavens they are gonna call those luscious Rutherglen fortified's.

hooroo...

The legalities of it all are, that Tawny, Port, etc. will be phased out by i believe 2008? I could be wrong about the date, but it is for the same reason that We are unable to label sparkles as Champagne. Its a geographical indication of the product. You wouldn't call a wine a Barossa Shiraz(Syrah :)) if it was from somewhere else. Same with the name Burgandy. It is illegal to say on the label," in the style of "(eg: Bourdeux), Its got to do with the label intergrity program. There's a whole massive document outlining what is required on a label, and what is illegal to state.

P.S. I like Syrah, tosseur as it is