Wine bars in Sydney

While it’s often an overused comparison to describe the city of Melbourne, it really is Australia’s version of a European city. If you’ve ever lived in a European city (not necessarily in the UK) you’ll know why the comparison is made – ordered streets and stately buildings are emblematic of a neo-classical style you’ll often find in cities like Milan or Vienna.

Sydney, compared to Melbourne, is much more higgledy-piggledy in its makeup. I’m currently reading a non-fiction book by Peter Carey called “30 days in Sydney: a wildly distorted account”, in which, on a visit to Sydney, Carey examines the history of the city and how it has shaped what it is today. The author is originally from Melbourne, but lived in Sydney for many years and has evidently fallen in love with any suburb that is near to, or has, harbour views. This aside, he makes a convincing case for how much the colonial (or criminal) past has formed the current, and stunning, example of a metropolitan centre.

What has all this got to do with a wine blog, you might be asking. Well, it’s interesting in that according to The Sydney Morning Herald, the wine bar scene in Australia is returning to Sydney.

It must be first noted that by “wine bar scene” it is meant bars that previously were successful in Melbourne only, and that have a large range of various wines, served by the glass. Such sophistication was previously the exclusive domain of Australia’s European city. Red light districts and hard clubbing were reserved for Melbourne’s colonial cousin, Sydney.

I find the article interesting because it shows a struggle in Sydney’s hospitality sector that has often missed the mark on combining laid back, but refined, service. A friend of mine who recently hosted some international visitors in Sydney, said their only comment on Sydney’s bars and pubs was that it was a very pretentious city. Intriguing, when Sydneysiders are often ready to accuse Melburnians of being the snooty ones.

I also find the article interesting because an acquaintance of mine in my sommeliers course is somewhat of an entrepreneur, managing a restaurant and brewery in Milan, and a seaside resort in Brasil. On meeting me, an Australian in the course, he kind of floated the idea of what it would be like to open another business venture, this time on Australian shores, along the lines of a new wine bar.

While I couldn’t give him any advice as to a foreigner opening a business in Australia, my first advice to him was to open a wine bar in Melbourne, and forget the Sydney scene. I think only time will determine whether Sydney’s wine bars will be successful.

Image | Flickr

Sommelier qualifications: a touch of class

One thing I have been particularly impressed with in our sommeliers’ course is the calibre of the teachers, or lecturers. Most of them have been introduced to wine through sheer passion for the subject and many are not necessarily sommeliers by profession.

While this might indicate a lack of qualification, it actually means that firstly, we get lecturers who understand our position as novices, and secondly the lecturers often have an incredible array of general knowledge and culture.

So far, during our lessons, Dante has been quoted, events in papal history have been touched on and journalists have shared their film watching habits with the group (and it was James Bond, not Sideways, that was quoted). I have been particularly impressed with Matteo Longhi and Guido Invernizzi who are both medical doctors with an incredibly profound expertise in, and passion for, wine.

This proves to me that while it is always good to read anything that’s available on the wine sector, it is also essential to continually cultivate a broad understanding of diverse topics that may enrich our experience of wine. It is a beverage that has fascinated mankind for centuries, and I am certainly undertaking an entire educational experience, particularly in Italian history and culture, and am not just undergoing a wine tasting course.

This is true of my work in our trading company too, as issues that we deal with daily range from the effects of the economic crisis on the wine industry (naturally!), issues in the agricultural sector, including new legislation and vintage quality, import and export law and EU regulations, along with general marketing opportunities and trends in wine consumption (for example which champagne is currently in vogue).

This is only a general overview and doesn’t have much to do with high brow culture, though it’s all linked – I believe especially for anyone whose profession is sommelier. There is something extra that should be required of a specialised wine waiter that has much to with an air of general intelligence and the ability to serve any customer, with confidence that you’ve got a grip on the entire tradition behind the product you’re proprosing.

An interesting footnote to this is the European Sommeliers Association award for best sommelier communicator. This award was inaugurated in 2007 (won by Juan Munoz Ramos) and goes to a charismatic leader in the wine industry dedicated to training, education and communication initiatives.

In Australia in 2008, the Wine Communicator of the Year Award went to Huon Hooke (an appropriate choice) for his work in journalism and wine judging. He has been writing about wine for 25 years, showing that sharing wine experiences is what we’re all about.