One of the first somms I worked with gave me a bit of advice that has proven fundamental to my outlook on wine. She said, “When you’re taking a bottle of wine somewhere, a dinner party or whatever, what wine you bring is far less important than the story of why you’re bringing it.” The more time has passed, the more I agree with that statement and that’s why I start of all these Wine Diary blogs with a story. I mean, the circumstances of why I chose one particular bottle aren’t really that important, it’s not like you as the reader are going to experience those same events, but there’s something about being told the story that seems to make the wine more familiar.
So, why did I choose First Drop Mother’s Milk Barossa Shiraz? Because I needed a Syrah for the wine guide and I hadn’t reviewed anything from Australia yet. It was a very conscious choice. I went to Binny’s, looked at their wall of Australian Syrah, and picked one. Why did I choose this one? Well, I was between two and when faced with that kind of dilemma I do what everyone else does, I pick the label I like best (don’t act like you don’t do the same thing), but, interestingly, the label I chose is the one that told me a story.
The label utilizes comic book storytelling to tell, in brief, the story of how wine is made. There’s really nothing interesting happening on the label, the story they’re telling is somewhat universal to the wine world, but that also makes it very approachable. Presenting rustic agricultural imagery in an unconventional way, they attempt to convey both an appeal to traditional and modern sensibilities.
First Drop was founded by two friends who say they want to make, “wines with flavour, texture and a splash of funk.” They’re not growers, but they source their grapes from vineyards around South Australia. The grapes for this particular wine come from the Barossa Valley and are aged in French Oak for 15 months.
The wine was full-bodied with lots of dark fruit, and hints of anise, and tobacco. There was a ton of complexity, yet it remained approachable and easy to drink. A rare find, I was very pleased. It was the kind of wine you finish and wonder why the bottle is suddenly empty and where you can find more.
There’s a part of me that cringes at being sold on the label. What can I say? I like comics, and that puts me squarely within the demographic they were shooting for. As much as I hate to admit it, it worked. And the same way it worked on me, I know I could take this wine to my comic geek friends and they’d likely be sold on it for the same reasons. The fact I liked the wine is really just an added bonus, it was the story that sold the bottle.