2021

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[Not-published but I one of 6 finalists in Australia for the 2021 Gourmet Traveller New Wine Writer Awards and was mentioned in the DEC/JAN 21/22 edition of the magazine.] 

Kirsty Dale

Let’s get one thing straight, I was until recently, and probably still am, a dummy. However, I’m a dummy with some wisdom to pass on. So, let me take you on my wine list writing journey. At the start of 2021, I put my hand up to take over ordering and managing the wine list for a little wine bar called Una Más, on the second floor of Coogee Pavilion, in Sydney’s Eastern Beaches. That’s not the silly part by the way, that was a great decision. Those who know me would tell you that I have a tendency to get carried away in all aspects of my life. And let me tell you, this is exactly what I did. 

To start off, I convinced myself that the wine list I had inherited was not interesting enough. It was actually already great, but at the time I was drunk on power (perhaps a couple wines in.) So, I set out on a quest to source as many weird and wonderful wines as possible and bring them to Coogee. This list tops out at 40 wines, so it’s not much real estate to play with. Even if you make the font size 10 to fit more on the page, a small venue means not much storage space. Plus, guests don’t exactly love size 10 font in a moodily lit room.  Turns out a small list is harder, not easier to manage. That was my first lesson.

During this process, you would ask for sauvignon blanc and I would raise you Txakolina. It’s a fruity, crisp, high-acid and delicious white from the Basque Country in Spain. But, unsurprisingly, this word meant nothing to the average punter when they read it on the list. I was too focused on grapes no-one has heard of, from regions that are “off the beaten track”, and tiny producers who only allow you to buy an allocation of 6 or 12 of any given vintage. This was great if it was me or our Restaurant Manager talking to guests because we were living and breathing the wines. We could usually find something that the guest would love. Unfortunately, though, some of my other colleagues were not impressed with me constantly changing the wine list and having grapes they didn’t know how to pronounce, let alone describe. I found out the hard way that there’s only so much time in the week for wine training. 

I proceeded to meet too many wine reps, try countless cuvées and find myself completely overwhelmed. It took me too long to set up all the new products in the system, being a company with over 70 venues there are a lot of people involved. However, I would let this work pile up. I was at points drowning in information and administrative work that once complete would still need processing by the head office. This had to happen before I could order the wines and add them to my list. More than once, by the time I had done all of this, the wine would be sold out! Admittedly my own fault. Some amazing suppliers put aside stock for me while I did the admin, but they couldn’t all do this (and fair enough) so sometimes we would just miss out. At other times, I would buy hard-to-find, small batch wines and they would just sit in the storeroom because they didn’t hit the mark with our customer base. After a while of this yo-yo-ing I realised I needed a different approach to stay across new developments, keep our guests happy and retain some semblance of my own sanity.

This is where my new mantra comes in. Balance is everything. 

One of the most striking things about the wine industry when you're starting out is the importance of balance in all aspects of the trade. A balanced wine is a better wine. Vignerons play a balancing act with nature. And turns out, writing a wine list is equally about balance. This last element is something I’ve slowly (finally) come to terms with over the past year. 

I’m always wanting to do too much. In life, and my wine list. But I’ve learnt that when it comes to creating a list, too much variety, too much interest and too many changes can become confusing. This is because the list tries to achieve so much and then delivers on very little.  

The thing is, balance doesn’t just refer to having a good mix of sparkling, white, orange, rosé and red wines (although this is important). It’s also about achieving a range of offerings that suit different guests, as well as the economic considerations of the business. If you want to showcase weird and wonderful you also have to stock safe and reliable. Cheap and cheerful must be featured alongside expensive and prestigious. Despite my preference for salty indigenous Italian varieties you have to have both dry wines and wines that taste like a fruit cup. It’s less of a seesaw and more like a hundred balls in the air that have to line up at just the right point.

I have been lucky to be learning all this while working at a large hospitality group like Merivale, especially in a big precinct like Coogee Pavilion. It means if I stuff up and don’t order enough wine, there will be something in the building we can put on the list for a week. Or if a guest hates all the fun, minimal intervention wines we have to offer, we can duck over to Mimi’s and select something classic for them. Being part of Merivale also gives us access to immense buying power and quite a lot of freedom as our venue is just one tiny arm of a multitude of offerings. 

Whenever I do something, I want to be the best. At first, I thought the best was the most interesting, unique and diverse list. Now, I’m discovering that the best is actually being the best for everyone involved. Guests, natural wine fans, the business, wine reps and myself. I've accepted that it’s impossible to know all the trendy wines and all the cool producers, and also that it doesn’t matter. As long as I have wines that I believe in, a story to tell about them and a balance of offerings it will be okay. And look, I wouldn’t say that I have it nailed yet. But every time I have a chat with a guest or get an opinion from a colleague or mentor on the list, I inch that little bit closer to the perfect balance.