Pictured above: Andrew Caillard MW of The Australian Ark, The Vintage Journal, and WithWine.com.

In the third instalment of Wine Lister's 'Words with' series, we speak to Andrew Caillard, one of Australia's most prominent fine wine industry figures. Having co-founded Langton's (Australia's first specialist wine auction house) alongside Stewart Langton in 1989, Andrew now focuses on his writing, heading The Vintage Journal and recently releasing a series of books on the history Australian wine, The Australian Ark.

Read on to discover which Australian wine legend Andrew would most like to share a glass with, and which of Sydney's wine shops you should look out for when you next visit.

Wine Lister: Tell us about your current "house wine”.

Andrew Caillard: I receive many samples of wine to review as I have always worked as a wine critic in addition to my career as a wine auctioneer and wine expert. Rather than chucking them down the kitchen sink, I tend to keep a few bottles and give the rest to neighbours and family members. So, I tend to see the "house wine" (for everyday drinking) as any bottle that is open. On the other hand, I do enjoy drinking a wide range of wines and often dip into my cellar for other things.

WL: What do you drink when you're not drinking wine?

AC: Water.

WL: What does "fine wine" mean to you?

AC: Fine wine is conversation wine; something that promotes discussion and interest. The cross-over with commercial wine can often happen as price is not the determinant for a good glass of wine these days.

WL: The best restaurant wine list in Sydney?

AC: Probably Bennelong or Monopole. But I particularly like Felix in the Central Business District.

WL: What emerging region are you most excited about?

AC: I think your readership will think of Australian wine regions as entirely emerging - certainly when framed against the classic collectible wines of Europe and California. We have a lot of work to do. But I am excited about Australia’s potential with its incredible catalogue of 19th- and early 20th-century vineyards - and the extraordinary collection of pre-phylloxera germplasm. There is nothing like it in the world. In volume two of The Australian Ark there is a 16-page list of surviving - many of them franc de pieds - vineyards that were planted between 1843 and 1953. The Barossa can claim to have the largest acreage of pre-phylloxera plantings in the world.

WL: What is your standing on natural wine?

AC: I love the spirit of experimentation and the disruptive nature of natural wine. I find them difficult to like - although now and again something might be quite good. 

WL: Your go-to wine shop in Sydney?

AC: I tend to buy direct from the trade when I am feeling flush, but Langton’s - which I co-founded - is still an occasional source (both auction and the online store). But a shout out to Five Ways Cellars, Best Cellars, Pyrmont Cellars, and Prince Wine Store which are all privately owned and very knowledgeable. They have to compete with Dan Murphy’s, BWS, Vintage Cellars, Liquorland, and IGA stores that are peppered throughout the city.  Dan Murphy’s is very dominant with a wide selection and prices that 'cannot be beaten’.

WL: If you could share a glass of wine with one person, dead or alive, who would it be and what would you drink?

AC: Sir William Macarthur. He was the son of John Macarthur (who brought the first Merino sheep into NSW and was a key protagonist in the 1808 coup d’état known as the Rum Rebellion).

He created Camden Vineyard and Nurseries (southwest of Sydney), wrote articles on viticulture and winemaking under the pseudonym of 'Maro’, and corresponded with all of the great scientists and explorers of his day including Justus Von Leibig, Charles Darwin, Ludwig Leichhardt, and Marianne North. I would love to have tried the 1824 Camden Park Red Burgundy with him. He also partially sponsored James Busby on his fateful trip to Europe. He directly brought in Bordeaux varieties in 1837 and Riesling in 1838. His story is in the latest edition of The Oxford Companion to Wine and The Australian Ark.

WL: If you weren't working in wine, what would you be doing?

AC: I would be a painter!

WL: To finish, can you share with our readers one producer to watch?

AC: Yalumba is going through a really interesting transitional period and I love what it is doing in the fine wine space. Their 2018 The Octavius Shiraz, based on surviving plantings going back to 1854, is a beautiful wine.

Of course, there are many others like Cirillo Estate, Alkina, Wirra Wirra, Bekkers, and Ten Minutes by Tractor, not to mention Penfolds - which plays a vital role in the cause of Australian wine.