A good bottle of Australian wine is about more than just what’s in the bottle. It’s about the people who made it, the vineyard itself, the wine region, often the family behind it, and often the stories we, as drinkers, bring to the wine. 

In a non-academic sense, this was the basis of my PhD, where I looked at what lay behind the wine, particularly the emotional connection that Australian wine families had with their land, their winery, and the wine they produced. I could bore you with a detailed academic explanation of socioemotional wealth, but instead here is a link to my PhD.

My research showed that for these families there was so much more to the wine than its economic value. There was a deep emotional connection to the land itself, a sense of place and so much more.  Often these family members reflected that their own family’s story was being told through the bottle. They saw the wine as a continuation of their own family story.

The story is in the bottle

A couple of anecdotes always spring to mind for me here.

One is of a family member who loved bringing out a bottle of the family wine at dinner. Their branch of the family was quite distant from the family members who ran the winery, but the wine was their connection to a family story that had a more than 100-year history.  Their story was in the bottle, as a member of the family working in the wine business said.

Another is a family member who works overseas and is delighted that the family’s wine is often used at Board Room events. That bottle of wine lets them enjoy the family’s story, even though they are thousands of kilometres from the winery.

And for those of us who drink the wine

However, what of those of us who don’t make the wine but enjoy drinking it? That’s me and perhaps you?  There is so much more to the wine than its variety, vintage, winemaking, and its overall quality.

I am a member of a number of winery clubs. Most are family businesses, and many have an emotional connection for me that extends way beyond the wine itself.

Ricca Terra – The Soldier Settler Story

Ricca Terra in the Riverland of South Australia, Australia’s largest wine grape growing region, is my favourite example.

Ricca Terra’s Soldier Settler Series celebrates the First World War veterans who were blockies. My grandfather was one of them. Every time I have a glass of wine it is so much more than the Shiraz or Grenache it is an opportunity to celebrate his life.

This wine means something else to me. I cherish every single sip!

Moss Wood: Fine wine, Friendship and Memories

A glass of Moss Wood wine, one of Australia’s premium wine producers, has its own story for me.  I grew up with the family owner, and we have been friends for close to 60 years.

One of my many memories of time spent with my friend was when he was at my parents’ home; it was well before I was married, and he took a call at our house about the opportunity to work at Moss Wood in the mid-1970s. It’s a reminder of a time before mobile phones. a time well before mobile phones.

With each glass, it’s that memory along with my being there at Vintage with my family, amazing wine dinners and lots of laughs.

Wynns Coonawarra Estate: When wine collides with place.

Then there are the wines we discovered while travelling through Australia’s wine regions.

The Icons wine tasting, at Wynns in the Coonawarra, in South Australia’s South East, is one that stands out. It was a birthday present from my favourite person. It was an amazing experience.  We were privileged to taste the Michael Shiraz in a delightful setting in the old barrel room cellar at Wynns in the Coonawarra. Sure, Wynns is part of Treasury Wine Estates, a major corporate group, but Wynns just feels different.  Wynns feels iconic in its own right; it’s part of our wine history. It has a real sense of place, and that’s what comes to mind with each sip.

Coldstream Hills and the Yarra Valley: Discovering Pinot Noir

While on the subject of the Treasury Group, Coldstream Hills, in Victoria’s Yarra Valley, holds a special place for us as it was where we were really first introduced to Pinot Noir, which has now become a passion and is my favourite person’s favourite wine.

So it’s not just another bottle of Pinot Noir, of which I now have plenty, but a reminder of the start of my Pinot Noir journey.

Why some wines mean more to me

These are just a few examples of why a good bottle of wine is about more than the wine.

I just don’t think you get the same experience in drinking a wine that is the product of a boardroom and sold out of a larger retailer. The wine might be perfectly good or excellent, but it doesn’t bring anything more with it.

Sure, they might have a picture of an old shed on the label and tell a story about it to sell it. But to me, there is something lacking.

One of the people I interviewed in my Honours Research highlighted the difference well. His winery tells the story of his wife and her home country.  It’s a real story, and to me that’s what makes the difference.

I guess it comes down to this for me. As I drink a wine, I like to think about its story, not just its variety, quality or price.