Good things often come in small quantities - preserving the difference

By David Farmer

At Glug we began bottling some of our wines, in the winery, on the 25th August, 2017. The first was The Trial Bin 577 South Australia Cabernet Merlot 2013 of 53 cases, which preserved a lovely parcel displaying lifting rich flavours that would have been lost in a bigger blend.
While hardly ‘one small step for a man’ I am impressed with the way in house bottling has altered our thinking. The conventional retail trade works well and depends on large bottlings, big enough to be distributed to thousands of outlets with plenty left over for repeat orders.
The customer gains from a well-made wine which is stable and tasty and if you stick to under say $15 they can be good value. Consider though that these days it is possible for a small group to deliver directly to customers and this opens up numerous possibilities.
Being able to capture differences by small, unique bottlings takes us back to the days of capturing what the vineyard owner made for the family pleasure. We refer to this as ‘preserving the difference’.
Preserving the nuances or differences of wine is rather like bottling separately that small plot of 80 year old, dry grown, bush vines; or a few rows of a rare variety; or vines that have fruited under an obscure pruning and trellising system; all features that make drinking wines exciting and different.