New world wines get drop of old world wisdom

It took a stint toiling in a French winery in Bordeaux for Alex Retief to learn a career-defining principle. ''In Bordeaux, the focus was on the vineyards rather than the winery,'' the first-generation winemaker said.

''I came away with the understanding you can't make good wine from bad grapes, but you can easily stuff up good grapes.''

Mr Retief, 36, and a group of the state's youngest winemakers, which includes Peter Logan from the Central Ranges and Michael De Iuliis from the Hunter Valley, are looking overseas for inspiration to revive the local industry and create excitement about NSW's grape-producing regions.

The paucity of NSW wines on the drinks lists at Sydney's top restaurants and the falling number of viticulture students have bedevilled the industry for years. The course director of the school of agricultural and wine sciences at Charles Sturt University, Yann Guisard, said student numbers had fallen for four years; 45 students are enrolled in distance education.

''Very few school leavers are interested in full-time education in these courses. The courses have become less popular following the wine glut, as well as a general downturn in the popularity of agricultural careers,'' Mr Guisard said.

Mr Retief, of A Retief Wines, said the winery was focusing on what the vineyards can produce well, rather than trying to make wines that do not suit the region. ''I know I can get great chardonnay from Tumbarumba,'' the Canberra district winemaker said.

Ed Swift, 37, of the family-run Printhie Wines at Orange, hopes young winemakers can kick-start the industry. ''It is our responsibility to convince all the decision-makers and consumers to be more parochial because our wines can no longer be ignored,'' he said.

He believes Orange can compete with the best sparkling wine-producing regions in the world and said not having a long family history in the industry, like most old European vineyards, has its advantages. ''We're not stuck in a rut. We've done things because we thought it was right, adopting freestyle wine techniques.''