Over a big drink in a small bar in Italy two Aussie mates decided to make their perfect Shiraz...

Part 2 :: “Let’s Call It Two Mates And Get On With It”

"I think we should call it Two Mates and get on with it" ... My statement came during a lunch meeting six months after returning from Italy. It was as simple as that. We had no winemaker and no grapes but we believed they would, as had happened many times in the past, find us.

We both preferred Shiraz to any other wine and we both admired the two winemaking Bens ... Glaetzer and Riggs. Ben Glaetzer’s Bishop, Wallace and Heartland were excellent wines and his Amon Ra was king … Ben Rigg’s The Gaffer and Mr Riggs were similarly appreciated by both of us.

One Saturday I attended a Ben Riggs tasting in a bottleshop at Walkerville in the hope of meeting him to ask if he was prepared to help us fulfill our dream to make our perfect Shiraz. This was presumptuous I know. Winemakers don’t normally appreciate you telling them their wine is good but you want to make it better … but in this world if you don't ask or put yourself out there you won’t make it. Unfortunately, or as it turned out possibly fortunately, Ben cancelled and sent an employee in his place. We will never know what might have happened if he had not pulled out.

On exactly the same day David had to be convinced by a North Adelaide bottleshop manager to sample an unconvincingly labeled 2004 wine named "Linchpin Shiraz". In David's words, when he rang me later, "the label is a bit of a disaster but the wine is extraordinary ... a massive smooth McLaren Vale Shiraz. Whoever made this could possibly be our man”.

David and I both loved the 04 Linchpin (we still do). Obviously so did the judges of the 2006 Visy Great Australian Shiraz Challenge where it won the trophy.

Another McLaren Vale young gun winemaker Matt Rechner, was the genius behind Linchpin. I found his number on the web and I needed to make a call.

It needs to be appreciated that we still had no plan. But that didn’t worry us at all. Too many people "sweat the small stuff" and that is simply not our style.

The first call went something like this … "Matt, Mark Venable ... no, you don't know me. A mate and I love your Linchpin. We’re not sure about the label but we love the wine. We'd like to shout you lunch and ask if you'd be interested in making wine for us".

Directors Hotel is a friendly pub in the city of Adelaide of which I am a co-owner.

David and I were enjoying a cold Coopers when in came this young bloke with huge biceps, an armful of wine and a smile to match. He said "G'day I'm Matt (then pointing to the beers) and that's just what I need, we’ve been bottling since 6am and I’m thirsty" whilst simultaneously diving into his pocket for money. At the same time firmly shaking the blood out of both our hands, checking out the bar, juggling the selection of bottles and quizzing us on what we wanted him to make. The big warming smile never left his face … and it never has.

That still describes Matt Rechner. He lives life to the full at a furious pace. He is one of the most natural persons I have ever met.

So the lunch meeting with our new winemaker went incredibly well. It’s easy when similar people with unbridled enthusiasm and a common goal or passion unite. Negative thoughts do not hinder progress, hurdles are quickly overcome and at the end of the meeting you leave excited and with little or no apprehension about the business.

The plan evolved. It was simple, uncomplicated and it could happen relatively quickly. By pure chance Matt had some uncommitted barrels of current vintage low yielding old vine Shiraz from several respected growers around McLaren Vale that he’d like us to try and a price per litre was agreed to. It now sounds too good to be true but that is the way it went.

It was obvious that Matt would need to be responsible for the entire “farm to fermentation to barrel” and the technical stuff whilst David and I would take responsibility for making the final product, how it would look, smell and taste. It had to be that way. We had no idea of winemaking but we knew exactly what we wanted to make. Whilst we loved Linchpin we certainly didn’t want to produce it under a different label. The arrangement made sense and I sometimes wonder why it isn’t done more often. Maybe it is.

This was all sealed with a firm handshake five years ago and that is about as formal as it has ever got. Contracts have never been discussed and there has been no need to negotiate on price. Our whole relationship is based on trust in Matt’s expertise, honesty and integrity and our ability to pay for it, produce a great Shiraz and sell our wine.

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At the end of the 2 Mates story (8 parts) email the answers to these 5 simple questions to mvenable@hcs.on.net . All correct entries go into the draw to WIN A MAGNUM OF 2007 2 Mates Shiraz.

1. Who are the 2 Mates ?
2. In what European country did the idea for 2 Mates originate ?
3. What region is 2 Mates Shiraz from ?
4. Who is the 2 Mates winemaker ?
5. How many points did James Halliday award the 06 Shiraz ? 

AND! 

For the duration of the “2 Mates Story” blog we will be offering the 2 Mates 2007 for a Special BoozeMonkey Discount Price of $299 per case (12) including delivery to all capital cities in Australia. Recommended Retail Price $360 per case. Email orders to mvenable@hcs.on.net