236 – Adelaide Wine Wankers

We will be on WOW FM 100.5 on election night, March 17, 2018.

Grace Jones’ concert ad on the back. I thought to myself, here I am, I have pulled up to the bumper, baby

 In her Adelaide Fringe show, How To Drink Wine Like A Wanker, Anna Thomas strips the tasting process bare, while also stripping her life bare, but then she slowly replaces the layers, showing how Fringe, wine, and life, all intertwine to make a whole. Tonight, in Treasury 1860, a glorious Adelaide bar that she now owns, we plan to swirl, sniff, taste, and reflect upon Anna’s life as we turn these moments and her history into some fond memories for all of us.

I stole that last line about moments and memories, can you give us its full context?

Let’s go back a few steps.

What was the corporate career that consumed much of the first part of your life?

The Guilty Feminist Fringe show helped raise my consciousness about the challenges women face in the workforce and there I was, a day after seeing that show, listening to your story of torment. Will it ever change?

How has that process of leaving, changed you, or vice versa?

What was it about wine that grabbed you?

Please tell us some cellar door stories.

Why Treasury 1860?

How have you been involved in the Fringe

Nigel Dobson-Keeffe challenges the panel to pick the fake story from three stories from South Australia’s past.

Chronical February 1900
THE WINE INDUSTRY.
Since the formation of the Vinegrowers’ Association much good work has been done in educating vignerons in the class of Continental wine which meets with most favor in England, and a number of importations of French and German wines have been made for tasting purposes. On Wednesday there was a large gathering of wine makers at the rooms of the Royal Horticultural and Agricultural society, Maryborough Chambers to test wines. The tasting was arranged by the president of the association, Mr. H. V. Pridmore, and the wines were presented by Mr. G. L. Mueller and Messrs. Randall and Boucaut, who placed them at the disposal of Mr. Pridmore. Duty was paid on the wine, but when it was represented that the samples were to be used purely for educational purposes a rebate was allowed as on former occasions. The experts present examined the wines with the greatest care, and compared them with samples supplied by a number of prominent local manufacturers. There was of course considerable difference of opinion, but the general idea was that , the South Australian wines compared favourably with many of the much higher-priced imported wines, but the latter were slightly more acid on the whole.

The Advertiser March 1943
Tonic Wine Consumption up 700 PC
There was no intention of reviewing the wine ration at present, the Minister for Customs, Mr. Bartels, said today. Any review would have to be made by direction of the full War Cabinet. This was not being suggested at present. There were numerous unsatisfactory aspects of the wine trade which the Government was considering he said. Outstanding complaints were that hotelkeepers would not sell bottled wine except in glasses over the counter and that while public bars were closed; wine was sold in the saloon bars and lounges. The Government’s aim was to prevent lounge lizards drinking all day in the hotels, leaving none for workers when they had finished their day’s toil. Discussing the rationing of tonic wines because of abusers, Senator Keane said that consumption from two States had shown an increase of 700%.

News November 1954
Labels on wine poor
Faulty description of Australian wines was a major cause of their unpopularity in Britain. The- grants commission chairman, Mr. A. A. Fitzgerald, said this today. He said this was also the belief of many experienced wine drinkers in England. For instance, Mr. Fitzgerald said, Australian claret is not a claret as known in the European wine centres. The commission was hearing evidence from the Secretary for Irrigation, Mr. A. C. Gordon, who said Australian wines measured up well with many being marketed in the United Kingdom. Mr. Fitzgerald said he took a small case of wine with him to Britain, recently. – The people there were amazed that wines of such quality were produced here, he said. Australian wines have a bad name in the United Kingdom.