The sudden and dramatic growth in production of gas and oil from 'tight shale formations' in the U.S. still has me shaking my head in amazement. Oil explorers have always known these reserves existed but working out how to extract the hydro-carbons for a profit seemed impossible. Where there is a will, a way will be found and small and medium sized companies beavered away in the background, I assume for decades, seeking answers.

To then spin on a dime and turn this potential very quickly into massive new production takes some doing and only one country has the resources. You need risk capital, the technology and hardware, an astounding number of people with the right skills, an existing network to take the new supply to market and of course a profit potential to make it worth doing.

Funnily these thoughts came to me when I read a recent customer email sent out by the U.K. fine wine merchants, Farr Vintners about the 2009 Bordeaux. For the last 30 years those who trade in fine wine and write about it have met in the seaside town of Southwold to discuss each vintage when it is finally released (as distinct from reviewing the wine in barrel). In other words the best and most influential of the U.K. trade gather to focus on one single issue.

They do this because it is fun but also because it is where the money is. This single event made me think of the complex web that spreads out from Bordeaux to market the product and deliver it to customers. And if you want my definition of fine wine it is whether Christies and Sotheby’s are interested in offering it in the secondary market.

Farr Vintners, Corney and Barrow, Berry Bros and Rudd plus a number of others are a type of wine merchant that does not exist in Australia. Each firm employs a team of experts who deal almost exclusively in the great wines of France plus bits and pieces from elsewhere. The day to day trading and the main profit centre is based on supplying the finest Bordeaux to private customers in the U. K. and globally, increasingly this being the Asian market. They leave dealing with supermarket chains to other firms less fortunate.

I quote from the Farr Vintners email, 2nd February; "Every year in January, for over 30 years, some of the leading figures in the British wine trade have assembled in the sleepy town of Southwold for a comprehensive tasting of the latest Bordeaux vintage to be physically released onto the market. In January 2013 it was the turn of the eagerly anticipated 2009’s.

"....These internationally respected critics were joined by leading figures from the British wine trade representing importers such as The Wine Society, Berry Bros., Justerini and Brooks, Avery’s of Bristol and Farr Vintners. Our tasters ranged in age from late 20’s to over 70 and included 5 Masters of Wine, retired Bordeaux negociant Bill Blatch (who has tasted every Bordeaux vintage from barrel since 1970) and wine trade legend Barry Phillips who has tasted more fine wine than most people have had hot dinners.": Stephen Browett, Chairman, Farr Vintners.

Over several days about 20 plus participants carefully examined over 200 wines from this outstanding vintage. This tasting is happening after numerous prior trips to Bordeaux when members of this group and others from the UK wine trade would have tasted barrel samples. From these early observations most of the trading has already been done. And this would have been duplicated by merchants from the US, France, Germany, Switzerland, Asia and other countries where fine Bordeaux is sold.

These wine merchants may not like me comparing them to the engineers and oil well drillers who have flooded into North Dakota but it usefully illustrates just one aspect of all the things that have to be pulled together to make a meaningful change happen about the perception of any wine region. It also makes me reflect on the deep seated interests that have a vested interest in promoting the Bordeaux fine wine market and thus the seemingly impossible task of a far away country like Australia making any headway in the rarefied market of very fine wine.

The Farr Vintners Chairman's report for 2012 neatly summarises the fine wine market with two tables (brackets for 2011):

Farr Sales by Volume per Wine Region:
Bordeaux 78.0% (74.4%)
Burgundy 8.0% (7.9%)
Rhone 3.3% (3.9%)
Champagne 2.8% (4.1%)
Southern France 1.5% (2%)
New Zealand 1.5% (1.6%)
Italy 1.2% (1.2%)
Germany 0.9% (0.7%)
Spain 0.4% (0.6%)
Australia 0.3% (1.2%)

Farr Sales by Value:
Bordeaux 84.6% (82.9%)
Burgundy 10.0% (9.4%)
Champagne 1.8% (2.4%)
Rhone 1.7% (1.7%)
Italy 0.8% (0.9%)
Spain 0.3% (0.4%)
Germany 0.2% (0.3%)
New Zealand 0.15% (0.2%)
Southern France 0.15% (0.2%)
Australia 0.1% (0.5%)

It's all France and while it would seem prices can go no higher, the wines the buyers want are so scarce that they do. Perception is everything and counts for far more than all of the comparative tastings across the globe which indicates time and again that the quality of Bordeaux is not on another plateau. When you think about it, while the Bordelaise can afford the best tender loving care in their vineyards there is only so much that climate and weather can do to the flavours in a bunch of grapes.

Finally, even if you could marshal all of the resources of those oil and gas drillers I'm not sure how you crack this fine wine market where all of the money changes hands.