Heed glut feeling

HAD a call on the mobile the other day that was slightly unsettling though ultimately rewarding.

It was from my pusher – I mean, my wine ‘club’ salesman.

There is a vague recollection a few cases of white wine ago of providing my number to the company and agreeing to be open to direct calls about special promotions.

But it’s still slightly bizarre to have your history rewound through a glass darkly, or should that be a glass half full, or a glass brightly.

Whatever the case, the guy on the other end was full of positivity and knowledge about the wines he was peddling and my own drinking habits.

He knew the way I filled in my after-work hours so well, I half-expected him to say something like, “So, are you sure you were under the limit after that special riesling you cracked for your anniversary?

We all know it didn’t help your ‘performance’ after you got back from the restaurant.” (Sniggers can be heard in the background from other telephonists.)

But this guy was offering me a selection reserved for a limited range of clients (certifiable alcoholics?).

And by the end of the call I had two good cases of wine at prices that were frankly ridiculous.

We are in a wine glut, you see.

The Winemakers Federation of Australia, according to a report in The Newcastle Herald, believes Australia produces between 20 million and 40 million cases a year more than is sold.

The wine surplus already exceeds 100 million cases, a total expected to more than double in the next two years.

At least 17 per cent of vineyard capacity is uneconomic, hence calls from wine salesmen giving their product away but legitimising the deal by making you pay a peppercorn rent on the deal.

The trouble is there are only so many bottles you can put aside for a rainy day (and with Perth’s weather patterns you could be waiting a long time for those).

One wonders whether the odd owner of a Margaret River vineyard is looking rather closely at the debate on climate change that has kicked off the parliamentary year.

It looks like farmers will have the incentive of something like a $2.5 billion fund to help reduce emissions through methods such as carbon storage in soil, under Opposition Leader Tony Abbott’s policy.

The ‘Rudd/Turnbull’ policy also plans to pay farmers.

While every self-respecting high-flyer once thought it their duty to society to have a weekender producing a few grapes, perhaps in years to come the road to Margaret River will be paved with emissions-munching trees and super-enriched soils.

The wine industry can sustain a kick in the gluts for only so long.

Profile

Site Search

Share your thoughts in 60 seconds!

Wednesday 23 May 2012

Thursday

Friday

Most Popular Articles

Latest Competitions

Featured Video Clips

2012 RAAF Pearce Air Show promo

Circus performer Brenna Day

Site Sections

Site Information

Community News Group Links