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exploring taste – Spring/Summer 2016 places – Melbourne into the wild

photography Julian Finney/Wikimedia

process of erosion that brought them to life. could be just around the corner, as it is the natural outcome for this type of
‘Apostles’ is a relatively new nomenclature: until 1922 the same cliffs were natural sculpture. The latest discovery, however, gives us new hope in the
known by the moniker of ‘Sow and Piglets’, where the Sow was the island of stupefying nature of the ever-changing Australian ecosystem, forever moving
Muttonbird, located just before the mouth of Loch Ard Gorge, and its ‘Piglets’ at unexpected paces, from the imperceptibly slow to the eye-blinkingly fast.
the still-intact rock formations scattered around it. It is impossible to know The same fascination drives millions of tourists to visit the Australian continent
precisely how many there were in the beginning: local accounts mention many every year, to explore its boundless wild landscapes. Australia’s peculiar
more than the ones that are visible today. More than 8 rocky formations can balance between the hyperurbane, hyperpopulated metropolitan areas on the
be counted on a map dated 1846, while the first European sailors to travel here south-eastern coast, and the ‘outback’ (or the ‘bush’), the enigmatic, 6 million
counted as many as Jesus’ disciples – hence the name. Officially, the ‘Piglets’ and a half km-wide red desert that lies at the heart of the nation, enraptures
were rechristened as ‘Apostles’ in the Twenties, given the evocative power of travellers from all over the world. This huge, indefinite and all-encompassing Australian viticulturist researcher Richard Smart, illustrated by Andrea Schepisi
the Biblical moniker, well-suited to these massive but delicate stone structures, space represents an archetype for Australians too, who fail or flat-out refuse to
studding the coastline along the 243km route of the Ocean Road, between pin down its boundaries (or so the legend goes). The great outback has provided RICHARD SMART,
Torquay and Allansford. both the setting and the subject to a long line of cinematographic successes,
With the recent discovery of five new Apostles – submerged but intact from George Miller’s much celebrated saga Mad Max (its first installment is THE VINE DOCTOR
despite the relentless lapping of the waves – the full Biblical formation from 1979, the latest came out in 2015), to legendary comedy Crocodile Dundee
has been reinstated, with a few add-ons on the original number. This (1986) by Peter Faiman, as well as some more intimate dramatic takes, such
new finding represents a rather extraordinary occurrence, according to as Priscilla, Queen of the Desert by Stephen Elliott (1994) and Phillip Noyce’s
Melbourne University researchers. “When we first saw them it was a shock,” The Stolen Generation (2002). The ‘bush’ and its shape-shifting borders, the
said Rhiannon Bezore, from the department of Geology, “the apostles have countless natural parks, the richness of its flora and fauna and its ancient Richard Smart’s first encounter with viticulture dates back to 1966: since then the charismatic Australian researcher has become one
a specific structure, built on layers of matter. It is hard to believe that these aboriginal heritage make Oceania a kind of mythological place on Earth, of the sector’s most appreciated experts in the world, contributing to the popularization of the image of the viticulturist. After earning
ones haven’t been eroded to their core. The fact that they appear intact is a unique in its kind. This is a place where rocks can challenge the sea, rising up to his degree in Agricultural Sciences at the University of Sidney he moved to New York to obtain a Ph.D. under the guidance of Professor
reason for celebration.” the sky in layer upon layer of matter, just to disappear completely in less than a Nelson Shaulis at Cornwell University. During his career Smart earned prestigious awards for his research work and taught at several
The experts explain that the new Apostles may owe their survival to a sudden minute. But fear not: there is a whole other continent waiting to be discovered, schools (at Griffith’s in New South Wales and Roseworthy College in Adelaide, in southern Australia), gaining experience also in the role
rise in water levels, which took place around 60.000 years ago, following a just below the surface. of Government Viticultural Scientist in New Zealand. Specifically thanks to that experience, along with his team he set the foundations
‘glacial maximum’. “Back then the level of the oceans could rise twice as fast as for and started to shape the emerging wine industry in the country. He is author and co-author of more than 380 publications, including
it does nowadays,” Bezore continues, “so fast that the waves didn’t have enough the acclaimed Sunlight into Wine, a reference point for agronomic practices in the management of vines. Smart has appeared on major
time to erode the pillars, undermining their stability.” That’s why these five specialty magazines such as The Wine Spectator, Decanter and Wine and Spirit International, as well as in the sections dedicated
relatively small stone towers have survived until today, 70m underwater and to wine in major newspapers while his researches have been widely used and shared. In the mid-eighties, Smart began his prolific
a mere 6km off the coast of one of the most famous tourist locations in the consulting activities, first on assignment by the government of New Zeland and later privately. In 1990, he founded Smart Viticulture
country. While we have no way of telling how many rock formations originally and since 1991 consulting has become his major activity, which brought him to cooperate with more than 300 companies in the world,
rose in this area, we do know that they have been changing quickly since we first View of the Australian coast and the Apostles supporting his clients in the choice of the place, variety of fruit, management of production, irrigation and continuous improvement of
started observing them, and we are bitterly aware that their sudden collapse (when they were still nine) quality. Now Smart lives and works in Cornwall, in the UK.

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