Purple Gold Niche Grape Growing Networks in Orange Matthew Arrowsmith A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science, in the Faculty of Science Division of Geography School of Geosciences University of Sydney March 2001 i Contents List of Figures vi List of Tables vii List of Maps viii Glossary ix Acknowledgements xi 1. Australian agriculture at a cross-roads: the growth of small-scale 1 niche farming enterprises in Orange Chapter outline for this thesis 2 2. From ‘riding on the sheep’s back’ to viticulture, floriculture and 7 aquaculture: the emergence of the post productivist transition in rural and regional Australia 2.1 The concept of the post-productivist transition (PPT) 7 2.2 An Antipodean PPT 9 2.3 Producers’ new commercial rationales 9 2.3.1 Post-productivist agri’culture’s? 13 2.4 New food and drink markets 16 2.5 Environmental and ecological values 19 2.6 Chapter summary: a comparison of the PPT in its Antipodean and 23 European settings 3. The growth of small-scale grape growing and winemaking 25 production in Orange: signs of a post-productivist transition in the NSW countryside? 3.1 Orange grows in the grip of the grape: the burgeoning shape of the 26 Orange grape and wine industry 3.2. New production arrangements in grape growing and 30 winemaking: pushed or pulled? 3.2.1 Pushed? 32 3.3 The capitalisation of boutique enterprise 32 ii 3.3.1 Vineyard capitalisation 33 3.3.2 The arrival of the big boys 33 3.3.3 The formalisation and commercialisation of the boutique 36 production arena 3.4 Heard it through the grapevine? 39 3.4.1 The reshaping of public government’s role in agricultural assistance 42 3.4.2 Section summary: the changing role of public 43 government down on the farm 3.5 Grape growing and winemaking cultures in Orange 45 3.6 The growth of small-scale grape growing and winemaking 47 Production in Orange: signs of post-productivist farming in the NSW countryside? 4. Quality control: discourses of quality in grape growing and 49 winemaking 4.1 ANT and its Geographical Dimensions 50 4.1.1 The cultural shift 50 4.1.2 Recognising space-time 51 4.2 Geographical aspects of ANT: four key tenets 52 4.2.1 Durability 54 4.2.2 Collectivity 55 4.2.3 Hybridity 56 4.2.4 ANT’s usefulness for the current study 57 4.3 The researcher’s story 58 4.3.1 Hot on the growers’ and heels: following the actor 60 in the network 4.4 Coolness, sunshine, rain, soil, ‘jolly good grapes’ and 60 grapecrushers: issues of hybridity 4.4.1 Section summary: hybrid-boutique networks vs. 64 human-centred productivist wine networks iii 4.5 The voice of the consumer 65 4.5.1 Chardonnay shortfalls and the rise of organic wine 67 consumption: coincident modes of ordering and spaces 4.5.2 Section summary: the voice of the consumer in networks 69 of growing and winemaking 4.6 Certifiers of quality: geographical indications and the word on wine 69 4.6.1 Geographical indications for who? 69 4.6.2 Sour grapes: geographical entities and geopolitical disputes 71 4.6.3 Is the appellation as a code of quality dead? 72 4.6.4 New certifiers of quality 74 4.6.5 Discourses of quality certification: strengthening 76 or destabilising? 4.7 Chapter summary: issues of quality control in cultivation and 77 winemaking 5. ‘Orange’anising the marketing of boutique wines: leaping beyond 80 the farmgate 5.1 Network lengthening in the local arena: the growth and importance 81 of the cellar door in geographies of local consumption 5.2 Discourses of terroir 85 5.3 Discourses of small-business enterprise 86 5.4 Government involvement: a strength or a dilemma? 87 5.4.1 Economic ideologies 87 5.4.2 Welfarist ideologies 89 5.4.3 Caught between a rock and a hard place 91 5.5 Problems between small and large players in marketing the Orange 93 wine region together 5.6 Section summary: Orange juice is turning gold in the local 93 market arena 5.7 Beyond the Central Ranges: the construction of extra-regional 94 iv and export markets 5.8 A mode of ordering of ‘corporeality’ 95 5.9 Branding discourses 96 5.9.1 Region of origin and ‘regional association’ in branding 97 discourses 5.9.2 Medium-sized wine companies’ branding strategies: 101 connoisseur and fashion drinkers 5.9.3 A summary of branding discourses and the differences 103 between small and large wine companies 5.10 The role of government and industry in export strategies 103 5.11 From Orange to Sydney and on to Hong Kong, London and 105 New York: the globalisation of corporate wine companies’ marketing networks 5.12 Section summary: the building up and maturation of 107 extra-regional and export market spaces by the small wine companies of Orange 5.13 Chapter conclusion: boutique marketing and consumption 107 geographies at home & away 6. Conclusions: towards a networked cultural geography of 109 small-scale farming in the post-productivist Australian countryside Appendix 1 Orange wine grape grower and winemaker interview 117 survey Bibliography 122 v List of Figures Figure 3.1 Capital-intensive broadacre vineyard development at Cabonne 35 Limited’s estate and winery in Cudal, Cabonne Shire, Orange wine region. Figure 3.2 Cabonne Limited’s new 20,000 tonne capacity winery 37 at Cudal, Cabonne Shire. Figure 5.1 Wine labels from Donnington Vineyard, Ibis Wines, Logan Wines. 99 Figure 5.2 Wine labels from Nashhdale Vineyard, Canobolas Smith Wines, 99 Highland Heritage Estate. Figure 5.3 Wine labels from Templer’s Mill, Gold Dust Wines, 100 Cargo Road Wines. Figure 5.4 Wine labels from Rosemount of Orange, 103 Brangayne of Orange, Indigo Ridge. vi List of Maps Map 1.1 The geographical wine region of Orange in the Central 1 West Zone of New South Wales Map 3.1 The political and physical geography of the Orange 26 wine region Map 4.1 Geopolitical disputes in and outside the Orange 73 wine region Map 5.1 'New South Wales Food and Wine Trails', which is a 88 state-level tourism programme that connects existing regional food and wine trails vii List of Tables Table 3.1 Oncoming wine grape production by hectares 27 in Australia by state. Table 3.2 The Orange wine region’s winemaking company (co.) structure. 28 Table 3.3 Boutique vineyard size and number. 29 Table 3.4 Wine grape varietal production mix in Orange (hectares and 30 tonnage) and weighted average grape prices for the 1999 vintage. Table 4.1 Possible ‘indicators’ of quality of wine. 58 viii Glossary Appellation wine region of origin a.s.l. above sea level ASX Australian Stock Exchange ABARE Australian Bureau of Agriculture and Resource Economics ANT Actor Network Theory ANZWIJ Australian and New Zealand Wine Industry Journal AOC Appellation d’origine controllee AWBC Australian Wine and Brandy Corporation Baume Grape sugar content BSE Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy Cabernet Sauvignon Wine grape variety CAP Common Agricultural Policy Chardonnay Wine grape variety C.O.M.E. Cowra, Orange and Mudgee food and drink Experience CRCV Cooperative Research Centre for Viticulture DSRD Department of State and Regional Development EU European Union GIC Geographical Indications Committee Merlot Wine grape variety Muscat Hamburg Wine grape variety MW Master of Wine NCC National Competition Council NFF National Farming Federation NSW New South Wales OCC Orange City Council Oenologist Winemaker PDO Protected Designation of Origin Pinot Noir Wine grape variety PPT Post Productivist Transition QA Quality Assurance RIRDC Rural Industries and Research Development Corporation Sauvignon Blanc Wine grape variety Semillon Wine grape variety SFDP Specialty Food and Drink Product ix Shiraz Wine grape variety TNC Transnational corporation vCJD Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease Vigneron Grape grower Vinification Winemaking Vintner Winemaker Viticulturist Grape grower Viticulture Grape growing WFA Winemakers Federation of Australia Zinfandel Wine grape variety x Acknowledgements This thesis is very much the handiwork of my year in the leviathan that is the city of Sydney, its people and its University, which I’ve relished and come to feel extremely fond of. My thanks and gratitude go first and foremost to Bill Pritchard, whose teaching and support go way beyond the scope of this thesis . You have put many opportunities (and bottles of vino) my way this past year, some of which I have grasped more keenly than others. The field trip to Brisbane and the weekend jaunt to Orange were both good fun but the chance to work alongside you in the Murrumbidgee is really what kick- started my own research. While it all looked shaky for a while, your perpetual guidance, faith and friendship kept me running. Your shocking jokes, and regales of Princess Grace and San Jose amongst other things I shall not forget quickly, and should I get the chance to do my PhD at Sydney, I’ll be sure to get a driver’s license and tell you before I arrive this time. A big thank you to Peter and Lee Hedberg for putting me up for the main duration of my fieldwork in the hot weather of December. I’d like to acknowledge Peter especially for your willingness to get up with the cherry guns and for driving me to the vineyards of fellow growers, and winemakers. Your receptiveness to my research task, in addition to our many conversations on the Orange grape and wine industry, made the victory of completing my fieldwork and write-up that much easier.