Hey Australians, it’s a good thing to celebrate greatness.

The theme that runs true in this country is ‘batting for the underdog’. It’s that Aussie mentality that gives lift to those fighting their way to the top.

Sounds great in theory and one would hope it encourages everyone to be the very best they can be and give it a go. However, it’s a one way street and there’s very little support for those sitting on the throne and because of this there’s malignancy that spoils the good intentions.

Aussie’s hold little standards to the underdog. Anyone can be an underdog regardless of how good or bad that person may be at a certain thing. If you are an underdog, you’re lucky as you will always have the support of those fighting for you…until you’ve made it to the very top. Then you’ll be turned into the enemy; the enemy of the next underdog.

It’s the old “Tall Poppy Syndrome” that runs like wild fire throughout every industry in Australia and destroys the concept and pursuit of greatness itself.

For whatever reasons, Aussie’s choose not to celebrate greatness. In fact it's taboo! Mediocrity gets priority these days and it has lowered the accepted standards of quality, throughout so many industries, to levels that are doing us damage. The wine industry is no exception.

To be fair, we don’t even know what the very top looks like in the wine industry today. With so many overhyped wines, producers and labels, the top looks like a city skyline with hundreds of different rooftops that obscure any answer. It’s become a multiple choice free-for-all and it’s all our fault.

We listen to critics and other influential voices of the wine industry that overlook and even throw the truly deserving greats under the bus just to help their own cause of championing the next producer, their own special underdog. We've lost our benchmarks and blurred our definition of what a great Australian wine actually looks, smells and tastes like.

Thankfully, JP Mouiex seems to know what greatness is and holds it in very high regard. Congratulations Giaconda for achieving something extraordinary and getting the recognition you deserve ❤️