anyone’ s actually vinified multiple clones. We’ ve learned that some of these clones do not suit us, do not suit Australia. As we have gotten involved in more planting, we’ ve focused on the clones that are working.
We produce around 150 tons of grapes on this 80-acre vineyard every year. We bring in about another 600 tons of grapes from 23 different contracted growers who grow specifically for us. That’ s given us the opportunity, with the Innocent Bystander label, to blend between vineyards to produce a highly consistent wine across vintages. With Giant Steps, we are much more interested in maintaining the personality of individual vineyards and vintages.
MM: All your wines are screw cap and I can tell you’ re not a big fan of cork. How do you finish differently with the wines under screw cap?
PS: It’ s very important to get wines out of their reductive state before bottling under screw cap because it’ s never going to see any more oxygen. We’ re bottling with about a third the level of sulphur we’ d ever bottle under cork. We are also extending out our oak barrel time to get absolute, total oxidation in barrel prior to bottling. We try to make the wine properly and finish it ready to drink. I think the ultimate closure is glass. We’ ve been bottling under screw caps since 2001, and I go back to some of our 2001-2002 wines, and they’ re aging beautifully. And I don’ t think that it’ s just that we’ re particularly good wine makers— I think we’ re bottling under the perfect closure.
MM: You are obviously very passionate about the wine industry. Tell me about your approach to marketing wine. We believe you have some of the best marketing in the industry.
PS: If I put my brewing hat back on, in the very, very early days of the craft beer industry, globally, we were trying to sell beer alongside brewers that dominated the marketplace. They dominated to the extent where they would intimidate retailers so they didn’ t stock us. In fact, in Australia, the big brewers actually used money to get you out of places.
It’ s illegal in the US; it happens here all the time. We recognized very early on that we had to out-market them. In other words, we had to take a guerilla approach; we had to tweak their nose a bit, and recognize the strength of brands. That was the tactic they used, and we had to accept that if we were going to build a brand. We couldn’ t just go out there with a pale ale and expect people to buy it.
Most small wine producers think marketing is a dirty word, like you’ re prostituting yourself. Whereas I take the alternative, which is, if you can’ t actually sell your wine, no matter how good you are at it, you’ re a failure. There is this weird,“ I’ m better” attitude of wine producers, where they won’ t actually bring themselves to the market.
MM: For sure. I think they want to have that mystique, that cultish sort of“ You can get our wine but you’ re going to have to look for it.”
PS: It’ s just nonsense. I mean, at the end of the day, what are we without an audience?
MM: I think the nonsense comes from the people who are starting out anew and trying to build that persona from the get-go. Wine becomes a cult favourite because it’ s made by people who are doing things that are outside the box, before everyone else has. That’ s sort of how I see your marketing approach.
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