AUSTRALIA, NATURALLY
A decade ago, the Australian wine industry was in trouble. A perfect storm was taking place; it included fire, drought and massive oversupply. As organic food swept the country, criticism grew within the wine industry around poor farming and overly technical vinification.
Australian wine needed a wake-up call.
As if on cue, four passionate and quirky outliers exploded onto the scene. They brought wild, cloudy and ultradrinkable wines the likes of which most Aussie consumers hadn’t seen. Natural wine had arrived like a jolt of lightning, sending shockwaves throughout the wine world, disrupting the status quo and ruffling feathers in its wake.
The motley crew, which became known as much for its theatrics as for its wines, was called Natural Selection Theory and comprised Adelaide Hills-based James Erskine of Jauma Wine, Anton van Klopper of Lucy Margaux Wines, Barossa Winegrower Tom Shobbrook of Shobbrook Wines and Sydney artist Sam Hughes. Members hid amphorae behind velvet drapes and played music to them; leapt onto tables during trade tastings; performed interpretive dance and launched a
