where did this site come from?

Early in 2004 we held a party at Ah Well, a country property where I was part owner. A cast of thousands was invited, about a hundred turned up.

I dragged out a bottle of Crittenden’s Arnies that I had bought on a whim a few years earlier. I thought no one will have heard of this wine, so it will be the talking point for the wannabee wine connoisseurs among the guests.

But there was a catch. There is always someone who thinks they are one-up on you. So a certain smarty, nameless gentleman but his initials are MW, had a bottle of Pizzini Arneis.

So not exactly one-up but a one-all draw I say.

We had a chat and the usual Banter ensued.

But for me it was a life-changing moment.

An idea was born and a new word coined.

At that time I was still a wage slave, but looking ahead. I wanted a retirement hobby, one that might return a bit of pocket money.

I realised that something dramatic was happening, or about to happen, in the wine industry. This was something I could be involved in, at least vicariously.

For a couple of decades I had been unconsciously exploring unusual varieties. For example, in 1980 I fell in love with Aucerot. This is a truly rare variety. See this brief note about it and other rare varieties.

In the early 1990s I bought a bottle of the first vintage of Brown Brothers Tempranillo, then being pioneered by viticulturist Mark Walpole.

In my day job I had been working with databases and websites for a while, and I had become interested in a web based business building system called Site Sell.

The changing wine scene was an ideal topic for me to start my little side hassle. But I needed a name. I do my best thinking between 5am and 6am and that’s when the word Vinodiversity was planted in my brain and still remains.

what happened next

I had this idea that there were probably about 40 or so “alternative varieties” so it would be a small enough field to explore. A couple of months work, and I’d have them all covered.

240+ months later, I’m still working on it. I keep discovering new varieties in Australia all the time. And there’s still plenty more to come.

Who has heard of Azal for example? Yes, it is grown in Australia.

Back in 2004 there were probably only about 100 ‘alternative varieties’ in Australia. My first book, Emerging Varietal Wines in Australia includes 99 varieties, but back then in 2006, I included some varieties such as Grenache, Mourvedre, Pinot Gris, Verdelho and Viognier as alternatives.

• Anyway, with the help of Site Build-It I was off and running.
• I discovered the Australian Alternative Varieties Wine Show held in Mildura each November. I have been a regular attender and have made many friends over the years.
• I discovered De Long Wine Info who make the Wine Grape Varietal Table and some superb wine maps. Due to rising costs of postage I no longer retail the maps. They are now available in digital format.
• I published a few books on Amazon. They are still available thanks to POD technology.
• I made a few dollars here and there for advertising and some generous people sponsor this site and the associated Vinodiversity Community.
• I give occasional talk and taste sessions in person and over Zoom

But most importantly I now have many new friends in the wine industry, winemakers, marketers, consumers and many more.

Subscribers to Vinodiversity Community get invites to Darby's Special Taste and Talk Sessions.