Are You really out there in Cyberspace? You may remember leaving your email address while visiting Happs in Dunsborough. This is the result. It will be brief and non pictorial for the sake of your hard drive.

Message 1. There is an order form as an attachment should you wish to fax it back to stock up on Happs wine. The prices are normal cellar door which is 1 or 2 dollars less than bottle shops. Because it is winter time and our cellar door staff are having a quiet time we have decided to pay freight to anywhere in mainland Australia. If you are fortunate enough to live in Tasmania we still love you but please add $10 for freight. You will notice that the red drought is relieved by the release of the Cabernet Merlot, Merlot and Shiraz of the 1997 vintage. If you are one of the growing band of PF Red lovers don't delay, there is not much left.

Message 2. We have a problem. Last year we introduced a white wine blend which we called Marrime. The name was my idea. Before long it became apparent that people had different ideas of the pronunciation of Marrim-ee and some males simply refused to say it. Some customers at cellar door mistakenly assumed that they were being propositioned. Others persistently read the label as Maritime. Some retailers enjoyed themselves by inquiring as to the marital status of our office manager, Sue as they ordered the wine, out of reach, at the other end of the phone. Others avoided the problem altogether by pronouncing the name as Mar-rime.

I thought that Marrime was a good name for a blend of six of the nine white varieties we grow in our Karridale vineyard, namely Semillon, Chenin Blanc, Chardonnay, Viognier, Verdelho and Marsanne. The other three are Furmint, Muscadelle and Sauvignon Blanc. When you blend wine it is properly married and there is no chance of recovering the ingredients. It's for keeps. Eventually we will release some of these components as individual wines. Later this year there will be a small bottling of Viognier. We have had a straight Chardonnay and a Verdelho for years. But there will never be a separate wine for each variety. We have planted nineteen reds and nine whites. Its out of the question. They are small parcels. It's a research exercise. Even if every one is brilliant we need to be sensible or adaptable.

There will always be a need for a wine which will take advantage of the blending potential of grapes which have complementary flavours. There will also be a need for a 'bin end' wine which accepts the bits and pieces left over and sells at an affordable price. This should be a volume seller, a household name and utterly reliable. I thought Marrime had the right connotations, and I wanted to get away from 'Classic' which is a little meaningless when the interpretation by various makers can be so variable. Anyway, I don't want to be a slave to fashion. I want to be different. I want to be a fashion maker - out in front, as a small imaginative organization can be.

If you look at this problem of names carefully it soon becomes obvious that the name should :

• be easy to pronounce.
• be free of embarrassing associations.
• have a local connection if possible e.g. Marri trees indicate the best vineyard soils, commonly known as the Red Gum it also produces the blossom which is the preferred food of that scourge of vineyards, the Silver eye.
• be memorable.
• suggest that the 'blend' offers more than the sum of the separate parts.
• be brief, preferably one short word.
• not try to bask in the splendour of someone elseâs achievement.

So, I think I did badly in terms of the first couple of requirements and quite well for the remainder. I think it's still a goer but there may be something better.

There follows a list of names. Could you simply ignore anything which is, in your opinion, a complete bummer. If its reasonable, give it a score of 1. If its good, give it a score of 2.

Please return the email with your scores. If you want a free bottle of Marrime on your next visit to our cellar please show us a printed copy of your response. We can match it against our records and avoid what might become known as 'The Great Marrime Scam'. If you think that Marrime is a good name, please score it accordingly and you might like to take advantage of the offer at the end of this message. If you think its a lousy name the offer might still interest you. If you need a good wine for a wedding reception we've got it, or a fish meal, or a pasta dish, a barbecue····we've got it.

Here we go:

Verity
Credo
Regine
Charisma
Shaylin
Acclaim
Cherish
Marri Gold
Adroit
Rapport
Partners
Attain
River White
Rapport
Unanimity
Unison
Harmony
Concert
Ergo
Dialogue
Margaret River White
River Gold
Ensemble
Opulence
Avante
Aegis
Amour
Affinity
Ambience
Aria
Marri
Marrime
Marrimee
Marrius
Amity
Attune
Veritas
Equanimity
Corroboree
Covenant
Genesis
Esprit
Elan
Verve
Your suggestion···········.

Thank you for your considered opinion. Help yourself to a case of Marrime via the order form at the price of $120 delivered. Take the plunge. Be reckless. Life is meant to be lived.

Best regards,

Erl Happ