Four Western Australian wine producers have appeared in a new book about the development of ‘new world’ wines.
Four Western Australian wine producers have appeared in a new book about the development of ‘new world’ wines.
Former Time magazine correspondent George Taber cites Cape Mentelle founder David Hohnen, Leeuwin Estate’s Denis Horgan, Redgate’s Paul Ullinger and Keith Mugford of Moss Wood as he documents the spread of premium wine production in his book Judgement of Paris (pictured right), published by Scribner.
The book focuses on a blind tasting in Paris in 1976 when, for the first time, Californian wine beat French wine, creating big headlines and turning the wine world on its head.
Mr Taber then tracks the development of non-European wines and their acceptance by consumers to support his theory that the Paris tasting, at which he was present for Time, was a major catalyst for this change.
Of the four Margaret River-based identities, Mr Hohnen receives the greatest attention due to his role as a founder of world-leading sauvignon blanc producer Cloudy Bay in New Zealand.
The story is told of how Mr Hohnen was drawn to the Marlborough region in New Zealand after a 1983 visit by several Kiwi winemakers to Cape Mentelle, during while they extolled the virtues of wine production possibilities in their country.
Mr Hohnen, who had recently won a prized Jimmy Watson trophy for the second year in a row, decided to go and check out the region for himself.
The result was Cloudy Bay, which developed a global following and eventually led to French investment in New Zealand and, ultimately, the takeover of the winery and Cape Mentelle by LVMH Group, the owners of Veuve Clicquot.
Redgate’s collection of modern machinery from around the world was used as an example of how the wine industry had globalised.
Mr Taber cites the recollections of both Mr Mugford and Mr Horgan regarding the Paris tasting, organised by British wine merchant Steven Spurrier.
Mr Mugford recalled hearing news of the tasting as a student at the prestigious Roseworthy wine course in South Australia, while Mr Horgan remembered being told of the Spurrier tasting by his then partner and Californian wine legend, Robert Mondavi, who had pointed out that the event showed that “wines of the New World such as they were going to produce could rank with the best of France”.
In 1980, Leeuwin Estate, in which Mr Mondavi is no longer involved, produced the first vintage of its now famous chardonnay.
In fact, Mr Taber writes, in 1999: “Jean-Claude Vrinat, the owner of the Taillevent restaurant and one of the judges at the Spurrier Tasting, published the book 100 Vins de Legende (100 Legendary Wines) … they included two Australian wines: Penfolds Grange and Leeuwin Estate Art Series Chardonnay”.
