School of Social and Political Sciences - Theses
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ItemThe winegrowers of Geelong and their search for the things that count( 2018)In the past fifty years there has been a boom in small-scale wine production on the periphery of large cities in temperate Australia. Geelong, in the southeast of Australia, is no exception. Two things are interesting about this movement, in Geelong at least. Firstly, despite the fact that growing grapes and making wine is largely a rural enterprise, traditional farmers are conspicuous by their absence. Secondly, it is well known that vineyard and winery work is hard and the economic rewards limited, yet people continue to engage in the production of wine. In my research, I have sought to explain what it is that draws people from the city to make wine. Many of these people use the French term terroir when they talk about their wines although many find it difficult to explain exactly what it means. In my research I examine the French notion of terroir, and in particular, the problem of translating the term into English. I develop an argument that to understand what terroir means, and indeed, to understand what is at stake for small-scale wine producers around the large post-industrial city of Geelong, requires a recalibration of the mind. I argue that many of those wine producers exhibit a sensibility better spoken of in terms of poetry rather that science or economics. Having reached that conclusion, I go on to explore whether this sensibility, found in the notion of terroir might not already exist in Australia in an Aboriginal concept of Country. In the light of our current ecological crisis, I ask whether fostering this sensibility might ameliorate some of the problems emerging in the rural sector and give us all model for securing a future worth living.