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ShareI know how far we all seem to think Australia is. Well, I won't lie to you, it isn't exactly near. It's not close enough, say, if you left your home for work in the morning and forgot your wallet and realised midway and turned back for it. Oh no! Australia is further than that. So much for perspective.
And then, it is big. The middle regions, the hinterland that they commonly call the outback -- the arid desert-like area -- is larger than entire Western Europe and has no more than a few handful of small towns with scant population.
But, along the coasts of this continent-island-country are reasons enough to make the 12-hour trip and to also stay there for a considerable amount of time. You don't transit through Australia, you don't chance-end-up in Australia, you aim to come here, and be here for a bit.
In fact I am doing that right now even as I send this article. You may lament your less lucky life. I am here on a hedonistic trail of food and wine. For now I prefer to share with you some things that will highlight why this place has managed to go from just having beer and spirit to including wine as well in its daily intake.
The beer is superb. Therefore wine brewers had to make a good product to be able to lure people away from the local tipple. Without a good reason, no barfly would have made the effort to invest in it.
The wine had to be priced at par with other beverages on the menu, including water. Without such a competent pricing scheme, wine would never have managed to appeal to the general populace.
The wine presentation was friendly. Wine writers in Australia aren't geeks or nerds with a chip on their shoulders. They portray wine in a friendly manner. The idea is not to be snotty and uppity about wine but instead to break it down for people.
Wines here have simple labels and easier names. From critter-centric labels to simple names like "The Big Red" (which is also a type of a Kangaroo) to a very systematic way of segregating wine regions -- the wines have been as much about marketing as about the making right from the start.
This country has the most democratic wine lists for a wine-producing nation. I am yet to visit a restaurant that didn't serve a sizeable and impressive number of wines from the rest of the world -- from France to Italy, from Spain to South Africa and even the Americas. No region was left untouched.
This shows that the consumer is a mature and discerned drinker but also that local wine producers don't fear competition but embrace it as a positive sign of constant endeavour for guaranteed international success.
Even Qantas, the national carrier, doesn't shy away from serving other non-Aussie wines -- including Champagne -- on-board. They do not have any qualms about it and they know their business.
The advent of wine hasn't made them discard beer; if anything they now appreciate both, just with more prudence. The Aussies still love their brew and nothing beats a day with some great meats on the grill in the park amidst friends.
And any evening can come to life with a glass of a well-made oak-kissed white or a slightly richer Shiraz red. The essence of drinking is to imbibe in a civil manner, no matter what the glass holds. Australia is a lovely case in point. I suggest we all buy a ticket, go seat ourselves at a bar overlooking the harbour, or the river, or the beach, and drink ourselves smarter!
