Back to school in Barossa: Wine Australia offers all-expenses paid visits

Wine Australia is offering a dozen “all-expenses paid positions” for a five-day course called the Landmark Australia Tutorial to be held next June in the Barossa Valley. Some details from a press release by the Australian Wine and Brandy Corporation, the government agency that oversees Wine Australia:

The Landmark Australian Tutorial will take place during the first week of June 2009 and comprises a series of master-classes and seminars that chart the development of Australia’s fine wine credentials. A unique course of text, narrative study and wine tasting is currently being devised under the direction of three principal tutors, Dr Tony Jordan, Michael Hill Smith AM MW and Andrew Caillard MW.

The tutors will be joined by Australian experts including James Halliday and Brian Coser who will add their own perspective to such themes as varietal benchmarking; winemaking philosophy and reviewing classic and rare expressions of Australia’s regionally distinct and most expressive wines. “The opportunity for us to engage the next generation of wine media, trade and commerce with an Australian fine wine story full of courage and ambition is very exciting,” said the Australian Wine and Brandy Corporation, general manager of market development, Paul Henry.

“The belief in the existence of terroir, the notion of regionality, the benefits of blending etcetera are all vexed questions that we should now confidently address, staking a bold claim to be judged as a leading producer of wines of character, quality and interest.”

Is it just me or do the references to terroir, regionality, et al sound a bit defensive? Or maybe it’s because I just read this article: Oz invaders not so dumb (hat tip to 8 Songs).

For more details on the program, check out this page. And for suggested wine-kangaroo steak pairings, see this one.

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