MICHAEL FRIDJHON: Zoo Crew enjoys freedom to explore new frontiers
Adventurous winemaking does not guarantee excellence, but pioneers ensure excitement remains part of the process
The world is full of good, ordinary wine. It’s also not short of wines so off-the-wall, geeky, imbued with passion and strategy rather than taste and finesse that a Martian turned loose at a wine show might well prefer the red planet, cosmic dust and all, to a second sip. Just because someone is “focused on expressing site” or refuses to use sulphur it is not a guarantee that the result will be worth the risk to your metabolism.
Much of what determines style has little to do with winemaking competence. Commercial producers — even those with the very smallest cellars — usually understand the science of converting grapes to wine while minimising the risk of transforming the fermenting grape juice into vinegar. But this does not mean that they are capable of distinguishing the folly of imposing a philosophical idea on an agricultural product while still hoping for an aesthetically satisfying outcome...
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