Think of Tuscany. What comes to mind are olive and boulder strewn hillsides, yew hedges, well tended ancient farmhouses, vines clinging to rocky slopes, the very best of regional peasant inspired cuisine and voluptuous earthy reds. In a small corner of our minds we have this image of perfection, of people living in a strong bond with their landscape and of their regional produce reflecting their environment and their philosophy. For a lot of us, that's what Tuscany represents, and we go there to experience this sense of rationality.

What do we think of when we consider Australian regions? I doubt very much that we see our own backyards with the same sense of reverence as we view our European counterparts, and I think, to some degree, that this is still due to our antiquated cultural cringe mentality. It is indeed unfortunate that we have adopted this stance, because it means we are constantly clamouring for international attention by parroting the foods of Europe, not developing our own sense of cultural identity through wine and food.

What am I rabbiting on about, you may well ask, and what has this got to do with wine? Well, I'll tell you. In a local sense, I think that so many of our wineries have almost been apologetic in describing their wines. If the French had settled Australia, there would be no apologies, just an arrogant sneer that says "I think my wine is excellent and if you don't like it that's your problem". If we are to take lessons from them, that is the lesson we should take away.

One of the hindrances to development of regional wine styles is the Australian preponderance to exhibit our wines in wine shows. As if they don't trust their own palates to tell them what is a good wine and what isn't, they seek to ask the opinions of experts and fish for medals. And what happens in wine shows is that the basic regional character becomes either type cast or diluted, and at worst, both.

When judges give medals, they tend towards wines which are very powerful expressions of varietal character. Regional character comes in last, and indeed the basic flavour of many regions, particularly those that are up and coming, tend to get lost amidst the juicy, peachy Chardonnays. Whilst I raise these objections, there is no doubt that blending to a consistent product, year in year out, and blending between regions has created a market for Australian wines which is enviable. There is that 'buy it off the shelf and bugger the vintage' mentality about many of our wines that lends such wine to mass marketing. And, indeed, the McDonalds approach has served some companies very well. But something also gets lost, and that is our expression of regionality.

When I make Shiraz I do not set out to make a wine which tastes like other Shiraz wines. The pinnacle of achievement would be a wine which reflects the soil, the season, the regional definition and lastly the variety. Whether the wine is a particularly good example of Shiraz is not important. What IS important is that it tastes good. A bonus would be to have someone identify a unique stamp of winemaker interpretation in the wine, but that is just an ego massage...

If you go to Burgundy and taste a red the words 'Pinot Noir' do not appear on the label. If you go to Bordeaux and taste any Chateau's red you could be drinking Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc or any of the minor grapes. Who cares? It's not on the label and the wine tastes good. More a reflection of site than variety.

So now I'm going to make a few tentative suggestions as to what Granite Belt character is:

1. Soils are, more often than not, skeletal in composition. Thin soils, with virtually no organic matter, tend to produce extremely tightly structured, lean wines. Thus, our Chardonnays are austere, with excellent length and persistence. It may sound like complete poppycock, but the surrounding scrub is the same; refined, evolved, seemingly fragile but possessing incredible resilience.
2. Reds are minerally, not enormously tannic, often approachable at an early age and with loads of spicy congeners. Colour is great, thanks to high radiation levels and cool nights (high diurnal fluctuation for the technocrats).
3. Overcropped vines make terrible wine in this district. Low cropped wines are a different story. Even so, the reds are never as inky as the stuff from McLaren Vale. That's partly a reflection of our poor soils, partly because McLaren Vale can easily get 14 Baume from their grapes whilst we are scratching for 13.5 Baume. This isn't value judgement - not everyone likes them?
4. This is NOT the district for aromatic whites. Forget Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc and Verdelho. The heat of the days simply cook the lovely volatiles out. For this material you need to head to cooler climes. Note that we actually have : our soon to be released Sauvignon Blanc hails from Bolivia (NSW, not South America), a district which lies about one hours drive South but is considerably cooler than the Granite Belt.
5. Above all, there is a strength of character to our wines. The flavours are unique, unwrought and bold.

I'll leave you good folks to muse on that. Remember that when you purchase local wine you help define our regionality.