Perpetuating a myth

NEW UK TElEvisioN series The Wine Show suffers from a problem that afflicts all media outlets covering the wine industry: the realities of global wine production are poorly represented. The vast majority of wine is not produced in million-pound wineries with stunning vistas and endless rows of pristine barrels. in reality, a lot of wine is made in industrial estates from bought-in fruit, on a large scale. it is still made by passionate people who work tirelessly to make the best wine possible, but not always in a showpiece cellar.

After making wine all over the world for 10 years, i am now making my own wine in spain. i think my wine is excellent, but the public perception is often that, because i don’t own my own winery or vineyard (i rent equipment and buy fruit), i am making cheap, budget wine. in fact, i’m just trying to find my feet in an industry which typically requires huge wealth. The association of winery quality to wine quality is perpetuated by glossy images of incredible facilities which are often loss-leading enterprises of the uber-wealthy – and are about as comparable to the average winery as i am to Brad pitt. Don’t get me wrong, i can see why people would rather look at Brad pitt than me, but without understanding the average, you can’t appreciate the exceptional. Tom Holt, Paso Primero, Somontano, Spain