Waitersfriend

Do we really need another winemaker out there producing even more wine, giving us another label to look out for, filling our heads with even more contemplating to undertake as we search through region, style, price point and at the end of it all enjoyability?  The search for a response to this quandary could undoubtedly lead us to many a debated conversation.  But as we refine our analysis and focus on the Arete Wines of Richard Bate, we at Waitersfriend say, ‘..go ahead Richard - make your wines!’  Tantalise us with your style and interpretation of winemaking, seduce us with the heady, brooding richness of Barossa shiraz grapes, beautifully crafted into what Richard would describe as, ‘..good drinking booze.’

My first encounter with Richard would have been back in the late 90’s when Richard was working as a restaurant manager in a Malaysian bistro I used to frequent.  About 3 years later I was standing at Saltram Wine Estate sampling the Pepperjack and Mamre Brook wines, thinking to myself, where do I know that guy from?  When the penny finally dropped I struck up a conversation.  Malaysian bistro manager guy was now site manager at Saltram wine estate and it turns out he had quite a good wine knowledge.

Quite good might just be a little bit of an understatement.  Richard has an amazing aptitude for the nuances of wine, his ability to sense and detect flavours, aromas, slight faults and hidden characteristics is outstanding and I always enjoy tasting wine with him.  It’s not just irritable wine snobbery when listening to him describe what his senses are picking up, but rather an uplifting enhancement to a tasting experience.  Within this ability is where Richard is going to create some very interesting wines.  Wines that will speak volumes about the fruit he has selected and the detailed winemaking that allows his self expression to be crushed, fermented, barrel matured and bottled for our drinking pleasure.

Whilst running the Saltram site, Richard was also studying winemaking and had hopes of becoming part of the Beringer Blass winemaking team, but the early to mid 00’s was a time of great turmoil for anyone working within the Fosters Corporation.  The controversial acquisition of Southcorp seemed to be the catalyst for an on going sequence of restructures that had managers and long term employee’s fighting and squirming to keep their jobs and often leaving behind a trail of collateral damage.  By 2006 Richard had become part of that collateral damage and was made redundant.  This however was a great turning point for him, he had been set free from the corporate beast and his thoughts began to gravitate toward his own label.

The Francois Freres Group was the next chapter in Richard’s life, the global cooperage group was looking for someone to assist with barrel distribution in Australia and Richard measured up to the task.  ’Unfortunately’ for Richard, this would mean from time to time he would have to travel to Burgundy to the home of the Francois family and their barrel production.  The ‘inconvenience’ of travelling to Europe aside, the Francois family was also a source of great encouragement for Richard as he inched his way forward to production of his first vintage under the Arete label.  Now Richard feels the synergy of being both wine maker and barrel rep, ‘I get a lot of one on one time with winemakers and they talk to you differently as a winemaker rather than just a barrel rep.’  

Richard just loves to talk wine and gets to pick the brains of some of Australia’s top winemakers.  The added bonus to it all is that he gets to find out more about what the winemaker is doing and how he can assist them with their barrel requirements.  And if Richard is making wine I’m guessing the barrels his wine is matured in is going to be sporting the Francois Freres cooperage stamp.

By 2008 everything had come together and the first production of Arete Wines began.  Describing himself as a tiny producer, Richard handcrafted three wines - one sauvignon blanc and two shiraz.  The sauvignon blanc named The Road Less Travelled shows off Richard’s desire to create a food worthy wine that is a little left of the norm.  This desire, coupled with the inspiration he draws from his son’s daily challenges of living with autism, makes for a wine that’s a little daring - which is exactly the point.  (See the Arete website for the full Road Less Travelled story).  The 2008 Chatterbox Shiraz received some great reviews including a “93″ from James Halliday, which shows there’s quite a lot of talent behind the intent, harboured within this winemaker (again follow this link to see the reviews).  The third wine, his flagship single vineyard shiraz is a knockout.  With only about 150 cases produced it will definitely be one to keep an eye on. Richard describes it as, ‘a very sexy wine’, and he should be very proud of it indeed, from colour to drinkability it’s packed with an intense greatness that sets the senses alight.  It’s defiantly going to be one to tuck away for a couple of years.  Waitersfriend can’t wait to see it mature and reach its full potential.

Richard has tastings from time to time in Adelaide and keeps us updated via his website and social networking sites.  If you want to get your hands on a bottle and lips around a glass or two there is an order form on the Arete website where you’ll also find a list of retail outlets and restaurants stocking the Arete wines.