Malcolm (Decanted publisher)A birth and upbringing in Scotland was never really conducive to igniting the passion for all things wine-related - I wasn’t even a Buckie drinker in my yoof. Wine was what you took to the odd dinner party at university, usually 2 to 3 bottles of some red for yourself, a couple of quid a pop, four quid if you were going on a date. Even after arriving on this land girt by sea, it took me a while to feel any stirrings of the obsession to come. I was doing my best to suppress it, one notable incident with a cask of Stanley’s finest helped in that regard. But stir it did, becoming an interest to sit alongside others. Nothing too serious of course. Then over a period of time it poked, and prodded, and scratched, and shook me and screamed “What are you doing with yourself?” Que? “Give it up. Open your eyes and see the fun, the opportunities, and the heady gratification that lie in wait.” And so I did. I gave it up (the Law that is), I opened my eyes and here I am, pursuing a career in wine and loving it.
Decanted is a forum for me to post some musings, anecdotes, and reflections about anything related to wine, but particularly the wines I have the great fortune to taste. There is no agenda, its just plain and honest speaking on things as I see them - in vino veritas.
Any comments are gratefully received. If its about Nick’s grammar then I’ll pass the comments on. If you would like any further information on anything that is posted, please email me at malcolm@decanted.com.au and I’ll do my best to assist. Slainte, and here’s tae ye.
Nick Butler (Contributor)
I wasn’t born a cork dork. I’d spent years before this working in bars, paying my way through uni and living a life where the sun was rising as I hit the hay. Beer and rum (care of the country parties) were my drink of choice, until I stumbled upon a wine tasting one Saturday afternoon at my local bottle shop. “Aussie Shiraz Extravaganza” adorned the entrance and the owner had gone to the trouble of organising tables and fancy glassware for the occasion. There were 16 wineries participating, with Shiraz wines from around the country. It was ahead of its time, when I think of it now, considering it was well before the inception of Wine Australia and the plethora of shows that have followed.
Back at the “Shiraz-aganza”, I was handed a small tasting glass and I started to make my way around the stalls. I remember, Wynns Michael Shiraz, Penfolds Bin 28 and 128, Barossa Valley Estate Ebenezer, and so on. Pretty solid booze, but I didn’t know it. Wine, until this point, all tasted the same.
And so began my cellar - 6 bottles of Annie’s Lane Shiraz 1996. Great value, I thought. From that point any disposable income was thrown at Wine magazines and random bottles. Wine Tragic.
Back in 1999, when I was running restaurants on a resort on QLD’s Capricorn Coast, the planets cruelly aligned…there I was in paradise: plenty of guests prepared to spend their hard-earned on wines of quality; nothing wrong with the food either; sensational evening settings around sculpted pools and championship golf courses. And not a wine rep in sight. The list comprised of big boy brands with the same wines under different labels.
I shed a tear, realised I was in the wrong part of Australia and returned home to Sydney to start a wholesale boutique business. Selling wine ain’t easy, especially when you have no idea, but the years have been kind and I now find myself in a job I’m leaping out of bed for, selling great wines and meeting terrific people.
The founder of decanted is a good mate with a similar passion for all things vinous. I’m ecstatic he’s allowed me to share his blog and look forward to sharing tales of the vine with all 5 regular readers.