Could the kangaroo be another rabbit problem for Australia?

Monday, May 18, 2009

I remember this weird animal nightmare movie years ago which looked at an attack of [giant] rabbits.  It was done in the manner of all of those other crazy animal nightmare movies where you either have towns getting routed by a certain type of animal, whether regular sized or mutated.  I honestly can’t remember if the bunnies where giant, and to be honest, they were hares, but it probably took a page from the real rabbit invasion which took place in Australia/Tasmania in the early 1800s.

Well, this time the kangaroo is the culprit, and it’s Yellowtail wines.  Okay, it's not the only culprit, but it's probably the main offender.

For years, I have stayed away from most mass produced, or generic, wines simply because the quality isn’t that good.  I’ll give Casella Wines credit, they and their marketing have made Yellowtail probably the most consumed Australian wine in the United States and Britain.  But lately, there has been a problem due to the lack of water in Australia combined with the amount of grapes necessary to produce all that schlock, and Yellowtail has essentially screwed the pooch.  

Additionally, because these foreign markets have gotten so engrained as to these generic wines as a standard, that they have ignored most of the quality wines coming out of Australia, not purchasing the higher end wines from down under.

On retailer thinks that another issue is the focus on Shiraz, which many people still don’t realize is simply the Syrah grape.  This in turn has made people not really look at other varietals coming out of Australia.  I would surmise that it’s like the new baby in the family has made everyone forget about the other children; and they were good children, until that little bad seed came along!  By the way, too many people are also focusing on Malbec from Argentina and Chile, and I think that Carmenere will also cast a spell as well.

I am wondering how this will all play out in a year or two.  Personally, I will occasionally drink a Yellowtail Reserve wine, but never the regular crap that everyone else is drinking.  Try a bottle of the same grape from the two different lines/labels and you’ll immediately know the difference.

Well, back to the grindstone.