Landmark
Australia Tutorial
Session 1: an overview
Website:
www.landmark-wineaustralia.com
The participants and tutors: from left to right - Yukari Iwashiro,
Tony Jordan, Pei Tang, Tyler Colman, Barbara Philip, Dermot Nolan,
Sean Razee, Rebecca Leung, Jamie Goode, Frank Kammer, Essi Avellan,
Andrew Caillard, Julia Harding, Hwee Peng Lim, Michael Hill
Smith
In
June 2009, I was fortunate enough to attend the Landmark Australia
Tutorial. It’s a new venture launched by Wine Australia, and
aspires to be the most sought-after residential wine course in the
world; one that immerses the 12 lucky participants into Australia’s
fine wine dimension for a spectacular week of tasting, learning and
discussing.
‘The
intention of the inaugural Landmark Australia Tutorial is to create
a meaningful forum for international trade and media influencers to
discover, discuss and debate the voice of our top Australian wines,’
explains Paul Henry of Wine Australia. He adds that, ‘The
relevance of Australia’s fine wine dimension could not be more
important to our industry’s fortunes than in current times.’
Henry has a good point here: it’s important that Australia gets
the message out that of all the new world countries, it has the
longest established and most diverse portfolio of fine wines.
Australia’s success in export markets has been centred around its
good value, tasty, more commercial wines. Consequently, this is the
perception that many people have of Australian wine, and it’s hard
then to begin to tell them that actually there’s a lot more to it
than this.
So
what did the Tutorial entail? We began in Adelaide, with a visit to
the Australian Wine Research Institute, and a mini-version of their
Advanced Wine Assessment Course. Then it was off to the Barossa,
where we checked into our accommodation at The Lousie, a luxury
resort in Marananga, where we were to be based for the week, and
where we began the series of tutorial sessions with an overview of
the Landmark Australia category.
The Louise: a beautiful place to stay in the heart of the Barossa
Also
staying with us at the Louise were the three course tutors: Michael
Hill Smith, Tony Jordan and Andrew Caillard. You really couldn’t
wish for a better bunch of tutors – each of them legends in their
own fields and deeply knowledgeable about Australian wine. They were
opinionated without being dogmatic, pitched the content of the
course perfectly, and were good humoured with it. In addition to
Michael, Tony and Andrew, we had a series of guest tutors presenting
specific sessions (the list of these names is a roll call of the
great and good of the Aussie wine industry), as well as winemakers
who would join us each evening for the dinners.
There
were three different components to the Tutorial. In the morning, we
had two sessions each focusing on specific wine styles. Then we left
The Louise for a different venue each day, where we had lunch and a
longer afternoon session. This relocation was inspired: if we’d
stayed the whole time at The Louise, fantastic though it is we’d
have felt a bit hemmed in by the end. Then we’d return to The
Louise for a short down time followed by pre-dinner drinks and then
dinner at the fabulous Appellation restaurant, which is part of the
resort. The menu each day devised to accompany more fine wines, in
the presence of two or three visiting winemakers.
The empties: not a bad line-up for a week's drinking
Overall,
during the week we were exposed to 248 of Australia’s finest
wines. The pace was perfect: not too few, not too many, and all the
wines were presented in conditions in which we could appreciate them
fully. Some were served blind; many were not. The organization,
logistics and overall program were brilliantly executed.
Over
the coming weeks, I’ll be writing up the experience of the
Tutorial. My verdict? I have always valued the notion of
perspective, because our perspective determines how
truly and clearly we see. While many have experienced Australia’s
best wines before, few will have encountered them in this sort of
context, in such a concentrated burst.
We,
the fortunate 12 participants of this first Landmark Tutorial, were
given a chance to gain an almost unparalleled perspective on the
Australian fine wine dimension, in a brilliantly devised and
near-perfectly executed course. We were able to access the distilled
wisdom of some of the industry greats, while at the same time trying
benchmark wines that are rarely, if ever, brought together in this
way.
One
of the great things about the week was the chance to get to know the
tutors, the lecturers, organizers Lucy Anderson and Paul Henry of
Wine Australia, and—perhaps most significantly—fellow tutees. In
a residential setting like this you really are in each others’
faces, so it’s important to have good group chemistry.
Fortunately, the group gelled together really well. It was like a
large family, and I was sad to leave when the Tutorial came to a
close.
Landmark
Australia
Introduction
Visiting
the Australian Wine Research Institute
Session
1 - Regional Classics
Session
2 - Riesling
Session
3 - Shiraz and Blends
Session
4 - Historical Perspective
Session
5 - Semillon, Sauvignon Blanc and Blends
Session
6 - Cabernet Sauvignon and Blends
Session
7 - An Alternative View
Session
8 - Chardonnay
Session
9 - Pinot Noir
Session
10 - Blending the rules
Session
11 - Sparkling
Session
12 - Fortified
Wines
tasted 06/09
Find these wines with wine-searcher.com
Back
to top
|