Trading places
It's been almost three decades since Hobart wine educator Phil Laing staged the first all-Tasmanian wine show and helped create what has become an annual report card on the quality of one of the country's smallest and most marginal wine-growing regions.
Sure, the idea of a competitive show system is an abomination to some industry players, but there's no denying last week's Tasmanian Wine Show continued the tremendous PR job the event has done over the past 30 years on behalf of the State's 160 licensed wine producers.
Our cool climate wine specialists account for just 1.0 percent of the total Australian wine grape harvest, but the quality of the award-winning wines they produce is part of the reason wine buyers like Chuck Hayward have been quietly slipping in and out of the State since the annual Tasmanian Wine Show first began in 1991.
Hayward flew more than 12,000km to participate in the 2020 Tasmanian Wine Show. The affable Californian was its guest international wine judge.
Hayward has become accustomed to long-haul trips to Australia. As a wine retailer in San Francisco, he began his love affair and wine trade with Australia back in 1987.
Today, he's widely regarded in his home country as an expert on the subject. Now owner/operator of Vinroads, he is the frontman of a consulting outfit that's focused on delivering wine marketing and wine education on behalf of Australian and New Zealand producers in the United States.
Hayward joined fellow judges Huon Hooke (chairman), Luke Jolliffe, and Kathryn Bevan during the four-day event which began in Launceston on 13 January. Their assessments of 460 entries in 29 different categories decided the winners of the event's 20 wine show trophies.
Hayward was given special responsibility for awarding the Export Wine of the Show (International Judge's Trophy), supported by the Department of State Growth.
The winning wine was the 2019 Bream Creek Sauvignon Blanc.
Chair of Judges Huon Hooke believes international judges play an important role in the Tasmanian Wine Show.
"Not only do they bring a unique set of opinions and observations to the judging process, they get an incredible perspective about the Tasmanian wine community," he says.
"Chuck's extensive knowledge about Australian wines, and particularly the wines of Tasmania - combined with his considerable judging experience - added an extra dimension to our deliberations."
"This is my sixth visit to Tasmania," Hayward told guests at Friday's trophy presentation dinner, held in the Tamar Valley.
"I think it's time for the industry here to pause and congratulate itself on what's been done in the past 30 years, and to think about where you'll be in another 30 years.
"Wine is a window to a country, a region, a people and a culture. Tasmania has become a really exciting destination that people have recognised in the (United) States. People there are ready to come to your shores to learn more about you."
Hayward speaks with the voice of experience. Considerable first-hand experience, at that.
He and Tasmanian Wine Show Society President Phil Laing both took time out to visit a handful of northern and southern producers at the conclusion of the event.
"One of the most fascinating things about this show is that we've seen the success of individual wineries located outside the seven sub-regions of the State we've become most familiar with," Hayward observed.
"Those could become the new sub-regions of the future. I know the Tasmanian brand is very important to the State, but if you want to be able to sell more expensive wine that speaks of a particular place then understanding the differences and uniqueness associated with sub-regions is really important too.
"Pinot Noirs from Tasmania might all have Tasmania on the bottle, but when you taste them you find there are real differences in the wines from the Pipers Brook region compared with, say, the East Coast or the Coal River Valley. This diversity is something that should be celebrated.
"Once people begin to understand that, all of a sudden you can start to talk about food and wine tourism in more detail.
"Taking part in this show will allow me to tell your story more effectively in the States and become a better wine ambassador for Tasmania," Haywood remarked as he concluded his trophy presentation.
"It's been a great gift to me, and it's a gift that will keep on giving."
Hayward intends to share his heightened understanding of Tasmanian Pinot Noir and its regionality almost as soon as he's back on home turf. In July of this year, he is to present a selection of Tasmanian Wine Show winners at a specially organised seminar during Oregon's renowned International Pinot Noir Celebration.
The three-day event at McMinnville is now in its 34th year and is regarded as a mecca for lovers of Pinot Noir from around the world.
Participation in its busy schedule of tastings, educational workshops and food extravaganzas is highly sought after by producers and consumers alike. More than 70 US and overseas wineries attended the conference held in 2018.
Hayward did double duty that year, joining Queensland wine educator Tyson Stelzer and Bellebonne winemaker Natalie Fryar in presenting Tasmanian Showcase events in San Francisco and New York in October 2018.
Named International Wine & Spirit Communicator of the Year in 2015, Stelzer made sparkling, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir the exclusive focus of the showcase events. In total, the carefully orchestrated events presented 27 wines from 16 Tasmanian producers. Close to 160 members of the US wine trade and media attended in person.
"The impact that these wines made on the key influencers in the US surpassed even my expectations," Stelzer later noted in an 18-page report prepared for Wine Australia.
"We were pleased that 72% of our guests rated the tastings 9 or 10 out of 10.
"It was a great privilege to host my Tasmanian Showcase in the US for the second year, masterfully supported by the eloquent Natalie Fryar and the great Chuck Hayward."
Roll on Hayward's next port of call in July.
First published 14 January 2020: tasmaniantimes.com