Winedown: Last drinks
Queensland Teachers' Journal, Vol 130 No 7, 3 October 2025, page no 28 & 29.
Once upon a time, Leah Mertens, a young activist in Mt Isa, suggested to Warwick Jull that he write a wine column for the QTU Journal. Little did anyone know what this suggestion would lead to…
The first Tippler’s Corner column appeared in the November 1992 Journal and was the forerunner of many columns to come. They were written by many contributors and in many locations. Some of the favourite places were: under the clothes line in the backyard at Charters Towers; on the back deck at Bingil Bay; in the eyrie at the top of Cutten Street in Bingil Bay; in Warwick and Maureen’s apartment in Cairns; and many locations in NSW and Victoria by panel members “on the road”. Some special columns were also written overseas by Warwick Jull, as he travelled to experience two of his favourite passions in life — rail travel and wine!
The name change to Winedown occurred when Jenni Holmes had a burst of inspiration in 1996. It was perfect! Teachers needed to wind down at the end of a long day, and what better way than with a lovely glass of white or red. The intention of the column has been, from the very beginning, to educate people about wine and to encourage folk to buy into Australian wines and winemakers. Whether it was columns about individual wine varietals or columns to celebrate different wine regions, panel members tasted and supped to educate themselves and others. And just to let all our avid readers know, all wines and food were purchased by the panel members — in other words, no QTU dollars were harmed in the making of these columns. Wines were selected on the basis that they could be purchased and enjoyed by teachers on a budget.
Some of the panel members and columnists included: Warwick Jull, Jenni Holmes, Keryn Archer, Tom Brant, Callum Morrison, Molly Kreidl, Maureen Duffy, Laura Morrison, Rachel Wise, John McCollow (who filled in when the Winedown team were cleaning up after Cyclone Yasi), Rob O’Brien and Perry Anderson. However, the majority of columns written over the past 25 years were written in beautiful Bingil Bay, part of Mission Beach in Far North Queensland, by the local panel. A special mention should go here to “He Who Drinks Ale” (aka Bruce Holmes), who manfully took on the task of ferrying panel members home after the end of a hard day’s wine-tasting; no easy job at times!
For this last column, panel members were asked about their favourite memories, and they came thick and fast. Who could forget supping wine under the stars in Charters Towers, clothes line overhead and dinner being eaten from a trestle table with its legs sunk firmly into post-holes dug expressly for that purpose? Or Warwick Jull, sauntering like a happy pixie to insouciantly rinse out his glass on the edge of Jenni’s deck as the water poured off the corrugated PVC plastic roof (we’d only had 400mm of rain that afternoon!). And so many times, sitting on a balmy FNQ afternoon on Jenni’s back deck, soaking in the breeze, the beautiful green surrounds and, of course, the wine.
For the past 10 years or so, we have included food matches (even vegetarian ones). This has led to a number of interesting columns. Some of our favorites have included: matching wines to a variety of books (who would think that Kerry Greenwood’s Phryne Fisher would go delightfully with an Australian Sauvignon Blanc?); vertical tastings featuring Chinese ginger and pork dumplings (giving the lie to the established “fact” that wines do not suit Asian foods); special occasion wines, which are, of course, usually more expensive (think anniversaries, or any birthday ending in a zero); and standard celebrations — Valentine’s Day, Christmas, al fresco picnics, BBQs. Not forgetting our annual “cheap and cheerful” column, featuring wines costing less than $15 for all cash strapped teachers at the start of the year.
Through all these panel meetings, Jenni has shouldered the vast bulk of the catering, tailoring some excellent food to match the wines selected (an honourable mention to Maureen Duffy for her beautiful catering in Cairns!). Occasionally, we have diverted to a restaurant or pub lunch, so that we could all have a rest — including for our last “official” Winedown lunch.
Through it all, the drive to search for the “perfect” wine to recommend to members has underpinned all our endeavours, and it seems that at times we have succeeded. It is heart-warming when members come up to us and tell us they bought one of our recommended wines and it was wonderful! Warwick especially has sometimes had a rock star reception at various members’ meetings as “the writer of Winedown”! Great excitement has then ensued, with frequent pepperings of questions for further recommendations.
Speaking of wines, we have tasted a great many: Champagnes and sparklings, Rieslings, Chardonnays, Semillions, Pinot Gris, Pinot Grigio, Sauvignon Blancs, Chenin Blancs, Rosés, Merlots, Cabernets, Malbecs, Pinot Noirs, Shirazes, Zinfandels, Sangioveses and Temperanillos, plus all the blended wines. While mostly sourced from Australia’s wine regions, we also sampled wines from France, Spain, Italy, USA, Chile, Argentina and of course New Zealand — original home of both Warwick and Bruce (the Chilean wines included two specifically blended by Jenni and Bruce on one of their many travels).
All in all, it has been a fine series of adventures. From that first wine column in 1992, to this last one, 33 years later, many teachers and Organisers have dedicated themselves to the cause. Latterly, these have been retired teachers and Organisers, who are not getting any younger.
And so, like all good things, Winedown must come to an end. While it may be a little sad, it is also the beginning of many new adventures. There are still great wines out there waiting to be tasted, great food waiting to be sampled, and great travels waiting to be undertaken! We thank our readers for their faithful and avid reading, the folk at the Journal for their patience and assistance, and the QTU for allowing it all to happen.
And so, for the last time, cheers everyone!
Warwick Jull
Jenni Holmes
Keryn Archer
Tom Brant
Setting the scene
It is the summer of 1988, and with the stroke of a pen, a young, care-free, third-year teacher is transferred from the beautiful Sunshine Coast to Mt Isa in the North-West of the state.
Upon arrival, Union positions representing the Leichhardt branch abound. One of the most memorable things that I experienced was a regular road trip to Winton for Regional Accommodation Committee meetings.
These were held at the Gregory Hotel, where the infamous $10 steaks usually hung over the edge of the large dinner plates.
The QTU Organisers at the time, Warwick Jull, accompanied by Ian Griffiths, would fly into the Isa, pick up a hire car, collect me, and then drive me along the highway to Cloncurry and then down to Winton.
On those journeys, Warwick would often extoll the virtues of his latest quaff, being a red wine aficionado, despite the tropical heat of Mission Beach, where he resided.
After many such trips, I suggested that he might share his extensive wine wisdom with the members of the QTU through a regular Journal column.
Gathering a group of friends, Warwick left no bottle unopened in his quest to inform and advise the membership in his infamous Winedown columns.
Enjoy the last one, dear reader, with a glass of your favourite tipple! For me, that would be a crisp and characterful Clare Valley Riesling.
Santé
Leah Mertens
Deputy General Secretary
Attention reviewers!
Fancy seeing your name in print? Have a passion that you want to share with other QTU members? Then why not submit a review to the Journal?
We’re planning a new member-driven Journal section to replace Winedown. Whatever you're into — whether it’s music, books, films, TV, theatre, gigs, travel or anything else — write a 400-word review and submit it to comms@qtu.asn.au.
We’ll choose the best submissions and print them in the Journal for 50,000 other QTU members to read.
It’s as simple as that. So what are you waiting for? Get writing now!