Playing catch-up.

When, 18 months ago, I read Campbell Mattinson’s advice not to load your cellar only with your current favourite wine styles, little was I prepared for the future. For 20 years or more, I had been a devout red wine drinker with a penchant for cabernet and cabernet blends. With James Halliday shouting the praises of Australian chardonnay, I thought maybe I should not be so set on what I believed I liked and sought out a bottle of chardonnay to try. To say I was amazed at how far time had changed chardonnay from the days when it first arrived on UK supermarket shelves in the ‘80s would be an understatement. I was quite blown away by the modern styles available today. Needless to say I didn’t stop with chardonnay and am now enjoying rieslings, sauvignon blanc and friends, and many of the ‘newer’ varieties with much enthusiasm. My biggest disappointment in all of this is that for years I have visited cellar doors and asked, “Please can I taste your reds?” So many missed opportunities! Lee Osborne Baldivis, WA