Sarah takes some friends through the finer points of tasting Sauvignon Blanc.

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Melbourne.  Yep, so it’s been a while, I know. I’ve been busy getting glandular fever and enjoying all that comes with it, as well as working, and doing some research via interviews. It’s ironic that I spent a week up in Rutherglen doing my interviews, but could barely touch a drop of the precious vino due to the fever. However, I did get the satisfaction of having my thoughts on my thesis topic articulated back to me by professionals- collective sigh of relief that my work is somehow on track and relevant.
So where to now? Well, the data I’ve collected thus far indicates that I need a broader spectrum of opinion, so my energy (what’s left of it) has been directed at casting the net wider for interviewees. At the moment I’m panicking that I’m the only one who feels like there is still a grey mass floating above my head, full of teased out ideas and non-specific ramblings that will eventually fit neatly and succinctly into my industry report.
In fact, it was only a couple of weeks ago that these suppressed anxieties raised their ugly heads, induced by a few quiet gins obviously. Thankfully, my company at the time was well equipped to deal with this upset and inarticulate young lady – who knew I was not actually infallible?! Talking to another friend who has been through and survived that whole honours deal was extremely reassuring, turns out we all get a bit nutty and act uncharacteristic at this time of year.
To the health side of things- there was a window of about two weeks that I thought I could return from my no fun regime, tentatively step back into the gym and enjoy a few glasses/bottles of wine in order to channel my motivation again. Whether I overindulged, or that I simply wasn’t ready to return to normality isn’t clear, however I woke up yesterday with the dreaded haziness, sore throat and suspicious looking glands. I’m thinking it’s time to step back into sobriety, early nights, and a look but not touch attitude to the gym; which is the real killer because spin class is the only stress release I can count on!
Enough of the whinging- time to get my head stuck back into the books. Hope you are all sufficiently updated.

Do looks really matter, or is it what’s inside that counts? I’m starting to become concerned and self-conscious about whether my web page is ‘pretty enough’. Let’s face it, if there isn’t lust at first sight, are you going to be compelled to explore further? I know when I’m procrastinating, I mean researching, if a website doesn’t present well I’m hitting the back button or the nearest recommended link. Internet users can generally afford to be picky when it comes to visiting your web page, especially with search engines as vast as Google and Yahoo. There are just so many other, perhaps more beautiful, options.
So, how do I make my page alluring, but not so over the top that it detracts from the content? My personal style is minimalist; I can’t handle clutter. In fact, similarly to my friend Tess, my work area needs to be free of mess and non-essentials before I embark on anything. Studies show that ‘white space’- that is the clean and chic look, is inviting, so long as it involves the use of colour, image and an air of consistency.
Keeping this in mind, I visited a website that provided a range of layouts that I might use for Savvy Plonk. It was an exhausting search, with over fifty pages, full of eclectic options. However, as I slowly trawled through the seemingly endless choices, I kept the faith that I’d know the right one as soon as I laid eyes on it. An hour into the search, Savvy Plonk had a clean, inviting and functional new look that would complement my all-important content.
In all honesty, the colours aren’t in sync with the wine theme, an expense of utilising the navigational benefits the design has to offer. However, in my utopia, the ideal job would include the presence of a graphic design and IT team to solve such dilemmas, whilst I was able to focus on the public relations functions of the web page. A little precious of me, I know. I guess I’ll just have to be content with being an all-rounder

This feels like somewhat of a déjà vu from earlier in the year, or perhaps I’ve been explaining my research to anyone who will listen. Anyway, it feels like this time around, I have a greater clarity regarding the direction of my research.
Two months ago I had a dozen different ideas about where my research was heading, and what questions it may be answering. For now, I’m focusing research on trying to figure out how the communications industry is talking to the 18-25 year old demographic, and if wine has an existing place here. From this, I hope to establish some recommendations for the successful communication of wine culture.
As I am delving deeper into my literature review, my findings are proving a couple of pre-conceived notions:
1) Wine culture is not even showing on the radar in publications aimed to engage 18-25 year olds (think Cleo, Ralph- trust me, the elderly sales woman at the newsagent didn’t approve of my purchase here…)
2) It doesn’t get a whole lot better online. Most wine blogs or novice sites originate in the United States.

The most frustrating part of this research at the moment is that I know there is some fantastic wine literature knocking about. For example, I’m nearly lining up at the newsstand for each new edition of Gourmet Traveller Wine. The internet is also providing some comprehensive websites regarding wine info, Fosters being a notable example, as well as Nick’s the Wine Merchants. Unfortunately, without the motivation to visit these sites, or the awareness that they exist, they are practically redundant to this demographic. Sigh.
So, the questions? How can public relations practices increase awareness of wine to the 18-25 yr old drinkers? Which method/s of communication will be most successful for this?
More than happy for any of my lovely, yet few, readers to pass along their suggestions. Heck, you’re welcome to write the whole thing for me.

As a 22-year old uni student, I feel like I am expected to know more about ‘Goon’ than Grenache, counting my drinks by the inflatable bag, rather than by loose corks. Now, there is no denying I have mixed the odd cask of ‘Fruity Lexia’ with some sickeningly sweet juice- it’s a right of passage, similar to drinking a Guinness in Ireland. However, I feel the average uni student gets a bad wrap when it comes to stereotypical alcohol consumption- well at least when it comes to product.

It has been my experience that uni is a time of transition regarding the development of alcoholic tastebuds. It reminds me of that awkward ‘tweenage’ stage and fashion choices. I remember being small enough to still shop in the children’s section, but had the swimmer’s shoulders that meant I was ready to move into ‘grown-up’ clothing. The children’s clothes were girly, all flowery and frilly, yet cheaper. Then again, the older clothes were a little too mature, bordering on sexy- mostly importantly they were an unknown mass.

Fresh, first year students have most likely just moved out of home and are still working out budgets, discovering diversity, yet still going with the crowds to feel safe. Therefore, the cheap, cheerful cask wine is prevalent on drinking agendas, adjusting the taste according to fruity or dry wine and mixer drink. Many inventive party punches are a shining example of this. After one too many shocking hangovers, they start to branch out- perhaps drinking a bottle, rather than a bag of wine, an important catalyst of wine discovery and education.

The next challenge, generally coming into play around the late second year of study, is finding a good wine, a wine they enjoy to sip, not chug, mostly within the restriction of a student budget. It is here that a lucky minority, a community of wine loving students, are afforded the opportunity to guide their friends, and watch as they come to develop their own appreciation for wine.

I feel that recently, many of my friends have reached this stage, and I’ll often be on the receiving end of random phone calls to discuss a wine they just purchased or tried. This can also take the form of a food and wine matching hotline on occasion, something my parents are also guilty of utilising!

Savvy Plonk has been developed to help assist this transition into wine culture, after all, knowledge is power. Also, I find it starts a lot of good conversations. Some of the wines suggested here are a little hard to come by, some perhaps more than a student budget allows, but all are fantastic varietal examples that will provide an excellent basis for wine education.

Enjoy all that the wine experience has to offer. Grab a bunch of mates and a bottle of wine, cook dinner and share some laughs. Better yet, rock up to the nearest pretentious wine bar and tell them what’s what! Most importantly, never stop tasting.

Ok, I’m in the middle (hopefully closer to the end), of a bout of laryngitis- so it’s blog central right now as I’m not able to do much else. Anyway, as I sit in bed I’m surrounded by ‘must have’ technology- laptop on my knee, iPod in my ear and phone within reach. Take one of these out of the equation and I’d probably develop a slight separation anxiety, and I’m constantly checking each of them making sure they are charged, ready to go.
I recently caught up with a friend who has returned from a lovely European vaction and during the manadatory photo showing, I was suitably wooed by a sexy new foreigner, soon to be moving to Australia- it was love at first sight. Sadly, it wasn’t a gorgeous Italian man….but it was dark and handsome.
Of course, I’m talking about the new and very sleek iPhone. The entirity of my friend’s photo collection from his holiday was stored on this device, on top of his music library (vast is an understatement), phone contacts as well as internet access. This one palm sized device could soon make my gorgeous little laptop redundant! The most popular catch phrase we can attach to this is “technological convergence”, and I suppose to another extent “media convergence”.
One step at a time, let’s start with technological convergence, pretty self-explanatory here. Basically the iPhone is combining the best elements from the telephone, MP3 players, cameras and
computers, a 4-in-1 jackpot of convienence.
I cannot wait until i can get my hands on this lovely piece of equipment, hopefully after it drops in cost a little, and work my way around all of its handy features. It worries me however, that eventually technologically converged communication devices will become and the norm, and people like my mother will struggle to come to terms with so many facilities in one- lets be honest, she’s only just learnt how to text message and email, mostly because she was so scared of breaking whatever she was trying to use.
Technological incompetence can occur as consequence of fear, often referred to ‘technophobia’ and can be identified particularly in an older demographic, where familiar technology is upgraded, via technological determinism, and becomes the unfamiliar. Fear then sets in as the technophobe does not want to break or damage the new technology. A divide then occurs between generations as the new becomes familiar to the younger generation, the older generation becomes separated.
Analysts such as Lee & Tan see this as a “socio-digital divide”, where inequalities in use, access and knowledge of a technology limits the means in which generation can communicate. This leads to the segregation between those who can use technology( the children) and those who can’t (the parents), often resulting in older members of the household finding themselves increasingly alienated.
Socially this can lead to a break down of communication between generations, however, I’m sure when I build enough patience, I’ll be able to host a tutorial for my parents on using Facebook, or Messenger. On the other hand, this socio-digital divide might just be there for a reason- do I really want my parents to be able to montior me as a young adult through my digital dirt tracks?! Daily phone calls and messages will suffice for now…

It’s that time of the academic year when supervisors need to be sought out, pinned down and loaded with the scattered ideas, wild dreams and stresses that only honours kids can provide. Who wouldn’t jump at the opportunity?

The relationship between honours student and supervisor is a rather peculiar one I’m told, short, sweet and intense. Therefore, the process of choosing a partner, I mean supervisor, is integral to the overall success of the year. Now I’m picky at the best of times, and similarly to other areas of my life, a checklist needs to be formulated as a guideline to the perfect supervisor.

1) Semi-regular meetings- I’m a pretty low maintenance kind of girl, however, I do need a little bit of one-on-one time every now and again. Therefore, I propose fortnightly meetings with my supervisor, in order to keep me on track with deadlines and also to provide feedback on my work- either positive or negative (more about that later).

2) Devil’s Advocate- It’s always nice to have someone to help balance your thoughts in a relationship, to push your boundaries by disagreeing, just to see where it leads the conversation. My supervisor needs to be able to assist me in seeing multiple contentions, tease out ideas, but reel me in when I become irrelevant or pretentious.

3) Editorial perceptiveness- Must pay attention to detail, it’s really the little things that count at the end of the day, for example when is it ok to start using ‘we’? Being able to run a fresh pair of eyes over my work and pick at everything is important, will be fired over misuse of punctuation, and using underlining as a formatting tool.

4) Honesty- The cornerstone of any relationship, if you don’t like where we are heading, be brutal and tell me. The time allocated to meetings is rather limited, no need to spend half of it sugar-coating words so neither of us cry about how lacklustre my recent work might be.

and finally

5) Must love wine- need I say more?*

* All wine acquired in the duration of the relationship shall be divided evenly at its conclusion.

Ok, hands up who has a Facebook account? Yep, me too. How about those who have both Facebook and a MySpace page? Guilty again. Hell, I even have a uni email address, a Linked In identity, two Hotmail accounts and a blog (duh!) However, that’s where I draw the line. I have decided not to involve myself in the next social networking fad, Second Life.
Although it would appear that my current internet addictions would be time consuming, they do not even compare with the time commitment initially needed to decipher how to operate an avatar in Second Life, and then become skilled enough to enjoy playing in your new environment.
Now, living the uni lifestyle supposedly means I’ve got hours to burn, particularly being an Arts student- yes, I’ve cut out the middle man and am now taking the mickey out of myself. However, even with this oodles of spare time I’m meant to possess, there is absolutely no way I’m compelled to spend it in a virtual world, rather than stepping outside and experiencing the real world with all five senses (with the exception of camping, more than happy to participate in an online capacity there).
Clearly, Second Life provides the opportunity for escapism and self-gratification; however, I’m wondering where the fulfilment is in a virtual trip to Amsterdam’s Red Light District? No primary research here, I recently watched a doco that brought my attention to the presence of the sex industry in Second Life. Not only do you pay Linden Dollars, the currency in Second Life that can equate to real money, to enter and ‘experience’ strip clubs, you can also browse through ‘Adult Stores’ and purchase whatever takes your fancy.
Furthermore, you can visit nightclubs and chat to randoms, or perhaps meet real friends and Second Life acquaintances. It’s just no comparison to the real thing though. You can’t physically go dancing with your friends, jump around like idiots and take classic pictures, not to mention the all important pre-going out ritual of beautifying with the girls and having a few drinks along the way.
There is certainly potential to utilise Second Life as an educational tool. For example, Princeton University in America has set up a virtual campus, where students can attend class by visiting the university, listening to audio streams of lectures and access the accompanying notes. Personally, I think this is an ingenious idea- go to uni without having the timetable restrictions, whilst still obtaining all the relevant information at your leisure. However, education is one thing, virtually smiling at a cute guy instead of actually leaving the house and interacting with people in the flesh is quite another.
Why would you rather sit at an online bar, sipping a pretend glass of wine when you could step into a real bar, feel the warmth of an open fire and become mesmerised by the dancing flames and the silky liquid gold that pours from the bottle to your glass, and then coats your mouth with voluptuous flavours of ripe berries? A poetic experience.
In short, I’m just not wrapt with a program that is an operating oxymoron. How can a social networking site promote social behaviour when participation requires vegetation in front of a computer screen? ‘Nuff said.

Good afternoon all- so I’m a little late posting this, given that it was meant to be up here last Thursday night, apologies, my memory is like a goldfish. Anyway, the following is a start on my exegesis, not sure if it’s the right content but it’s something. My research lead me to stumble across a fantastic article in Epicure by Ben Canaider discussing binge drinking and encouraging a transition into wines tailor made for this demographic that might then get them onto proper table wine (an occurance that takes until we hit 34 research has shown). Pretty much became my current hero in one sentence here:

“we should all wait until we are 34 before giving up the cans of bogan and cola and moving directly on to Chassage-Montrachet.”

With that thought to set the discourse, read on for some positively compelling literary review.

A series of varied research methodologies were employed whilst compiling this industry report. Through secondary research, a selection of wine publications were analysed to gauge the attitudes of various influential professionals, including wine reviewers and journalists, on current issues facing the Australian wine industry. Analysis was consequently focused on the subjects of binge drinking culture, the effect of public relations on winemakers and ironically the congestion of wine reviewers in wider publications. These selections were made from varying print publications such as The Age’s Epicure and Gourmet Traveller Wine to highlight the varying reach of wine media in Australia. A search for online articles was then undertaken.
The current and perhaps never ending issue of binge drinking in the 18-25 year old demographic has sparked media discussion geared toward the curtailing of such behaviour, with the colloquial finger pointed at pre-mixed, or RTDs. In the opinion of Ben Canaider (Age, Epicure, 08/04/08, pg 15), this demographic need to be introduced to drinking ‘table wine’, however this is not a natural progression from sweet RTDs. A progression seemingly made more difficult by data from the Wine Industry Conference in 2000 presenting a ‘discovery age’ of 34 for wine drinking in Australia, leaving the 18-34 group as “one hell of a niche market”. Facing this challenge, Canadier looks at the introduction of sweeter wines to target young females particularly, however realises their desire for a wine “that’s lower in alcohol (because alcohol is fattening), that’s lower in calories (because calories are fattening), and, oh, put sugar in it”.
The article reviews three such wines currently on the market: Sangipop, Rosemount O and the Pewsey Vale Eden Valley Prima Riesling. The latter of the two are quite specifically the brainchild of marketing gurus from firmly established wine makers and distributors, whilst Sangipop originates from Rutherglen in North-East Victoria, produced by the boutique winery Rutherglen Estates. Sangipop’s creator, Nicole Esdaile, explains the needs for a style of wine to facilitate the bridging of the gap between sugar-sweet RTDs and comparatively dry table wine. Made with the grape Sangiovese, typically a lighter style, savoury Italian wine, Sangipop was created into a spritzy, rose style of wine, although still laden with sugar. Sangipop has been incredibly popular, selling out in its first 2006 vintage. Esdaile believes this style of wine has potential to engage young drinkers, saying, “It might be a drink that could appeal to a girl who doesn’t like wine but likes the taste of Sangipop. And it might move her on to trying wine.”
Sangipop, together with the aforementioned wines are made and marketed to be consumed chilled and/or over ice. To traditionalists in the wine industry, the idea of fusing ice cubes and wine is tantamount to the desecration of precious grapes and the art form that is winemaking. However, in the interests of the future of the Australian Wine Industry, it is perhaps time to consider a variety of ‘sacrificial lambs’ in order to become inclusive of the 18-25 yr demographic. This bigger picture discourse is quickly rebutted by Canadier, whom in closing notes that instead of making an educational transition with sickly sweet, pour over ice wines, “we should all wait until we are 34 before giving up the cans of bogan and cola and moving directly on to Chassage-Montrachet.”
As Canadier demonstrates, it is easy to discredit the wine industry’s attempt to engage with younger drinkers. However, the article does show a concerted effort to encourage the consumption of wine at a younger age, and foster the beginnings of a developed palate. Jancis Robertson, Master of Wine and influential wine writer, goes on to discuss the issue of further guidance for wine drinkers, in the form of main stream media wine reviews (Gourmet Traveller Wine, pg 36 April/May 2008). Robertson is concerned with the explosion of public relations in the wine industry and the consequent effects on wine sales, while subtly distinguishing the credible wine critics from those “who style themselves as critics”. Robertson notes the traditional approach to public relations in the wine industry is embedded in the distribution of wine to select reviewers, or winemakers who are “in town next week and would love to ‘meet’, which for this curmudgeon generally takes as a euphemism for ‘subject you to a sales pitch’”. The sales pitch approach leads to a step in the wrong direction for wine public relations, as educationally, reviews are now more focused on a certain score or rating as an easy means of reference for consumers. There is a lack of interest in the essence of the wine- the varietal characteristics, the terrior, the vintage and the general story behind a wine, all of which contribute to the understanding of wine culture, particularly if the writer is able to rely this in lay-mans terms- for example Stuart MacGill, or Matt Skinner.
While this approach is adequate to selling wines ‘en masse’, Robertson argues that it becomes detrimental producers and consumers alike, as it leads to a business of crowd pleasing instead of uniqueness, a problem that “comes with fame and a certain size”.

Honours is definitely a changing, scary beast that needs to be tamed- thanks to Ryan for that analogy, inspired from a ‘Cheshire Cat’. As you may well have guess from the blindingly obvious title of this blog, I am not longer writing a thesis. A significant change at this stage of the year- but not late enough to mess me about too much.

After a chat in class about research methodology, and my increased confusion and frustration about not being able to neatly wrap up a methodology and apply it to my research, Adrian and I stumbled across this idea that perhaps a thesis isn’t actually right for me and where I want to be next year. The words ‘industry report’ were thrown in to the arena. I took a moment to consider this, and continued to argue my case for a thesis. In the end though, I have seen sense and henceforth will be writing an industry report on the same topic.

This means however, that I do get to write an exegesis, instead of a thesis, that is an unlimited piece of work. So really, if I were crazy enough, I COULD end up writing a bigger exegesis than I would a thesis. But WOWZER, that’s quite huge. In that moment of realisation that I was now in fact writing an industry report, somehow I felt a huge weight off my shoulders. Not sure why, I think perhaps because it has more of a structure than a thesis, or because I’ve written reports before and am comfortable with the vernacular. Either way I’m feeling like my thoughts are synthesizing a lot more rapidly than they were a few weeks ago.

So that’s a major update, and I’ve even figured out a research methodology to use- industry research. Ahhh, it’s like someone has Windexed my window and I can actually see it out of it now!