In these pre-election times, where government grants generally are made with an eye to votes not merit, it was a surprise to find a little group of Rutherglen wine makers being made the custodians of a $500,000 grant to assist the Australian fortified wine industry.

What was perhaps even more surprising was that this handout on merit was delivered by Agriculture Minister Peter McGauran. His National Party normally uses such available funds at this stage of the electoral cycle to prop up votes in its own marginal seats rather than allocate them to a cause in a Liberal held seat like Indi, which, with a margin last election of 16.3%, is a safe seat to boot. Wine lovers should raise a glass of Muscat or Tokay to toast the Minister for his bucking of tradition.

The money Mr McGauran’s department is providing to the Muscat of Rutherglen group is to help the fortified wine industry come up with new names to replace the words ‘sherry’ and ‘tokay’ on wine labels.

As part of a deal to obtain greater access to the European market for Australian table wines, the Australian government last year reached an agreement with the European Commission which will require Australian producers of these styles to find new words to describe their wines in the domestic as well as export market.

Rutherglen has long been the heartland of serious fortified wine production in Australia and, with the major companies like Foster’s Group no longer interested in persevering with the great Seppelts labels, it is appropriate that it is the makers from north eastern Victoria who decide what’s in a name. For them fortifieds are still the economic lifeblood of their industry.

Chairman of the Muscat of Rutherglen group, Colin Campbell, says the government grant will enable essential research to be undertaken both in Australia and overseas in major export markets.

“We expect the outcome of the project will be a totally new approach to presenting our wines – in bottle shops, restaurants and cellar doors”, Mr Campbell said.

“The renewed focus on fortified wines will permeate all sections of the wine industry – distributors, retailers, restaurants, wine producers, and vocational and tertiary training institutions. We believe consumers will also embrace the changes.”

The Muscat of Rutherglen group will be responsible for implementing the project on behalf of the Australian wine industry for a number of reasons, especially the importance of fortified wines to the overall prosperity of the Rutherglen wine industry.

“‘Muscat’ and ‘Tokay’ are Australia’s two iconic wines,” he said, “with pedigrees dating back to the mid 1850’s, so the loss of the ‘Tokay’ name is especially profound. We have a deep responsibility to protect our winemaking heritage for future generations. After 150 years we don’t want to be the generation that dropped the ball on such an important wine style.”