The ultimate winelovers map

WINE REGIONS OF THE WORLD

A hand drawn map of the worlds wine regions by internationally accredited designer Maggie Moreno

Recognising the synergy between Wine sans Frontieres and a global map of the wine regions of the world, Maggie Moreno has appointed Wine sans Frontieres as exclusive agent and importer for her newly released ATLAS WINE REGIONS within Australia and New Zealand.

This beautifully illustrated map is unique and there is no similar product on the global market. It provides not only information of the countries, their capital cities but also about the corresponding wine regions.

Due to its aesthetics and decorative character, this map is ideal to be exhibited in business offices, living rooms, restaurants, wineries and many other suitable places

To order a copy within Australia or New Zealand please contact Wine sans Frontieres for pricing and delivery

The Wine Prospector

Due to be published shortly, The Wine Prospector is a look at the wine industry from behind the scenes after years of travelling to wine regions around the world. Regular short stories will appear here to hopefully whet the appetite and for the full rundown on the Wine Prospector visit www.thewineprospector.com

THE WINE PROSPECTOR – A SAMPLE OF TRUE WINE ADVENTURES is an entertaining, behind the scenes travelogue of a gregarious winemaker. Scouring five continents, our curious adventurer not only produced memorable wines, but has collected memorable stories along the way. Far from being your run of the mill travel book or how-to-appreciate wine lecture, THE WINE PROSPECTOR looks at the lighter side of the wine industry, his peers, travel and himself.

While taking the reader on the adventure of sniffing out “wine gems” anywhere from New World South Australia to Old World Northern Spain, our forager reveals the once hidden sides in the wine business. Making many friends and a few enemies along the way, the reader becomes entrenched in The WINE PROSPECTORS’ erstwhile discoveries.The treasure maps pinpoint the “nuggets” and the humorous anecdotes transport the reader to the world’s wine regions and the beauty they hold within.

It is written with humour, but presented with an underlying passion for the people and experiences that make wine one of the few pursuits that cross the many boundaries from former Russia to northern Queensland.

Oh how I wish energy drinks were around when I started working vintages. “Vintage” as it is known to all within the wine industry is more of a catch cry for the lead up to, the picking and processing of grapes, the fermentation into wine and the wind down afterwards. Vintage is not so much a time of the year as rather it is the main event of the year, the raison d’être, and you have but one chance to get it right. It would be nice to have the luxury of brewing of beer or distillation of spirits where it is a round the year production cycle but that would also take away the element of decision making and the pressure that many winemakers thrive on. Grape growing and winemaking is all about decisions and blending but it is so important, nay critical, to have the right base components. This means not only having the right grapes for the wine style that you are trying to achieve but the understanding of where the wine is going to finish up.

For most winemakers the vintage period is anywhere from two weeks to three months of madness but for me I punished myself a bit further each year by flying to the other hemisphere and repeating the process. One of the unique aspects of winemaking is that in most countries around the world, some fool has planted a vineyard. A lot of these are localized and not known by the international community. For example there are 13 countries commercially (and quite a few other non commercial) producing wine in Africa – try and name just half of them. It does not mean that because they are not recognized that their wines are any better or worse than the next producer, but there are so many wines that do not get recognition in any form. Along with the challenges of foreign language and customs there is the ongoing and universal battle with Mother Nature and the dilemmas that she can present, along with a lot of other interferences that we will get to shortly. It must be said though that there is no substitute for experience and in many of the countries I have worked, a lot of information is derived from unlikely places. For example a lot of “local knowledge” can be extracted fairly easily from the old timers in town propped on a bar stool or gathering in the town square. Each and every character is a given expert on any field that you wish to discuss and more often than not happy to share it with you. I soon found out the truth in having grapes picked before the autumn equinox (September 22 in the northern hemisphere) because after that the weather was sure to change, rain would commence and rot would set into the grapes. The eternal farmer’s code of planting crops three months after the first fogs to coincide with the winter rains or when someone will complain about their aching bones always weighs in the back of my mind now. That said the chance element of pushing the boundaries on many “theories” can make for a much better wine but you can also stand a good chance of having the proverbial egg on the face.

The actual process of making wine itself is not as difficult as you may be led to believe, it is the continual splitting of hairs and striving for quality that causes the anguish. Anyone who has experienced the frustration of making their own “home brew” of either beer or wine will relate to this. For every decision there is to be made you can split that into at least two or three or more options. It is a bit like the grain of rice on a chess board story, doubling the amount as you move to the next square. This is where the long, long hours commence as many of the decisions mean more work for oneself but something that is imperative to do if you want to maintain quality. Sitting at a wine press at 5 am in the rain is something that you have to experience to be able to sit back and smile about, and it is only the very beginning of the process. The number of times that I have worked 20 hour shifts can be counted on one hand, of every person in Sydney. I have fallen asleep in front of my one meal for the day only to wake up and go straight back to work again. I have fallen asleep at 3am driving an open topped tractor in near freezing conditions that caught on fire. I have gone for weeks without shaving because you think you are too busy. And at the end of each vintage it has always been without regret and with a sense of achievement. No wonder the 34 hour week in France is slowing down their productivity and efficiency; this is a mere 2 days work during “vintage”!

There was one vintage that I shared a house with two other winemakers in the Hunter Valley in New South Wales early on and one of the first vintages I worked as a winery worker. When I say a house it was actually a large cabin at the Cessnock caravan park. Each one of us was on a different starting time for a twelve hour shift so that the only time you saw each other was when one was asleep when you were either leaving to go or arriving back from work. We took it in turns making huge meals that would disappear over a 24 or 48 hour period and then the food mysteriously appeared again. This went on for two months. That is just how the wine industry functions, people putting their heart and soul into a few short months each year and along the way making a camaraderie that will last a lifetime.

Enjoy budding winemaker, enjoy.