Penchant for Penfolds from Day One

THINK "Australian wine" and the name that comes to my mind and possibly to many in my generation is Penfolds. This is harking back to the 80s when there were no dedicated wine shops in Singapore and the only places where you could find some decent wines were the supermarkets - Cold Storage, Fitzpatrick's and Daimaru in Havelock Road at the time. The provenance of the wines in those days was dicey to say the least - they had never heard of wine fridges and air-conditioned storage was considered the ultimate in provenance. (One knew better than to buy wines at the supermarkets' bin-end sales because that was the way they got rid of "OTH" wines, otherwise known as "over the hill" wines.)

In one of my early wine articles in the Food and Wine magazine of the day, (editor Juliet David, God rest her soul), I advised readers not to buy wines on "Special Sale" at the supermarkets, and Juliet promptly got irate letters from supermarket operators threatening to stop advertising in and displaying Wine and Dine in their stores!

But I am digressing - reminiscing rather - and what I mean to point out is that one of the most reliable standbys for wines in those days (and to this day) were Penfolds. I had been introduced to Penfolds by my local wine buddy in those days, tall bespectacled Ian, an Australian oil rig engineer, with whom I had attended my first wine course (also by another Australian). Penfolds was one of the few wines readily available in the supermarkets. They tasted and drank well, and most important of all, were quite affordable. The best was, of course, their iconic Grange Hermitage (as it was called then), but it was always (a) in short supply, and (b) expensive, over S$100. That was where Penfolds' Bin 389 came in, often referred to as the "poor man's Grange" or less derisively, "baby Grange". Eminently affordable at around S$30, and drank very well. I was also fortunate to receive an annual allocation from the local distributors of Penfolds of one case (12 bottles) of Bin 389 and of Grange, the latter at the opening price of S$100-110. Those were the days.