Most blogs start with little more than the support of the individual brave enough to take on the job of attempting to post regularly on a subject of their choosing. With luck the blog might garner some attention and like minded readers may post a few comments. Or you may never ever raise a ripple in the sea of cybercurrents that carry the majority of flotsam and jetsam of the blogosphere. Sound familiar? Then imagine the possibilities if your blog was linked with a major media outlet like The Sydney Morning Herald. Picture a grander vision of having such a blog talk about the wine region that is home to your winery.
Such is the luck of Mudgee, located on the Central Tablelands of NSW and part of the newly renamed "Central NSW" Region. Apparently their tourism campaign, targeting the patrons of art house cinemas, caught the attention of Rob Woodburn whose blog, Lost in Transit, featured the town and surrounding wine region in a post on June 28. A travel blog on the online site of a Sydney newspaper, how could it not draw attention? Fifty-six comments later and you have what seems to be the discovery of an Australian wine region, somewhat to the detriment of the better known nearby Hunter Valley.
In truth Mudgee has been in the wine business for quite a while but like its better known cousin, the Hunter Valley, it has lagged behind the growth of other wine regions of Australia. And there is good reason for this. The quality of wine is not really competitive; there are exceptions. But having visited the region several times over the last couple of decades I have not been impressed. Yes, there has been growth, and our visit in December 2003 revealed some surprises like Abercorn but I enjoyed Mudgee more as a weekend retreat than as a major wine region. Maybe I’ll be proved wrong in years to come but not in the near future. Still there must be something in the air or on the cyberwaves because another post just hit the surf, or is that the "Nest in the Hills".
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