Some producers deliberately steer clear of wine shows. We understand how they feel.

If there was a show that used large numbers of consumers to rank wines we would enter it in a flash and with great conviction because the consumers are ultimately the best and most independent of reviewers.

If one already has a secure position in the market place there is much to lose. The awards sometimes go to styles that one does not like, the results can be inconsistent and some of the best wines do not get up. There is a strong tendency to reward the styles typical of heartland of Australian wine making, and that is South Australia. If one does not do well there is great disappointment and angst. The winemaker and his dog are at risk of a swift kick. However, it is not possible to make a silk purse out of a sow's ear. Those that elevate the winemaker to god like status live by the sword and must die by the sword. The cult of personality is the problem. It does not recognize the reality that in wine, site and climate is almost everything. Blending bits and pieces from across the country is an approach to winemaking that is appropriate when constructing F.A.Q. wines to be sold in volume in an international market. If that is what you are doing then the art of the blender is critical. If however you want to make really great wine you begin with site selection, variety matched to site and viticulture that will maximize the flavour return. Then, you have a raw material that has the flavour intensity that is needed. You then try to conserve and complex that flavour in the winery. This is not to underestimate the value of a good winemaker. You need that too, to make sure that the potential is realized.

There is very little feedback from the shows to the exhibitors and as a tool for industry improvement. Shows could be so much better if they were run with imagination. The scope is there to get a report card on the wine or at least the individual score of each of the three judges. But no: they are run by the Agricultural societies for their own mysterious purposes.

Despite all this, shows, and the respected reviewer like James Halliday who engages in the herculean task of rating 6000+ wines annually are the chief means that producers have to benchmark their wines against others. As such these are a vehicle for the ambitious producer to make his mark in that wider forum. So, we enter in Perth, Melbourne, Mount Barker, Margaret River and the Sheraton in Perth. If there was a show that used large numbers of consumers to rank wines we would enter it in a flash and with great conviction because the consumers are ultimately the best and most independent of reviewers.