Our firm Charles Communications Associates from whence comes the input of the All the Swirl blog has a great group of friends that we work with and whose stories make for something inspirational...from time to time, we'll do our "Inside the Actor's Studio" version of a sit down with people in the food and beverage business who are making cool things happen. Our inaugural post features Philip Shaw, a veteran of the Australian wine business who took an entrepreneurial turn at the age of 60 with his own winery in Orange, Australia...his Koomooloo Vineyard has been known to get snow on occasion, not something one expects in Oz, but it's Oz, anything can happen... QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS WITH PHILIP SHAW: What book are you currently reading?
Ernest Hemingway - A Farewell to Arms
Do you have a nickname? What is it
I don’t have a nickname. I have worked hard to rid myself of the ones of my youth.
Is there a favorite rascal perched in your family tree? Who?
There isn’t a family tree. It’s something my family discusses (it must have been bad).
Name your most memorable bottle of wine, who you were with and where were you when you drank it.
A 1945 Chateau Latour. It was in Hunter Valley with a group of 10 colleagues. This was an amazing night as the Chateau Latour was only one of large number of superb old wines.
What's the most unusual item in your sock drawer?
A camera but no socks. And it isn’t actually a drawer, it is a basket.
As a child did you ever want to run away to join the circus?
No. Even as young child I realized I was not elegant.
What was your favorite movie then?
Walt Disney cartoons.
What is it now?
The Shawshank Redemption.
Do you still enjoy the circus?
Yes.
Name an Australian region Americans should visit more but don’t?
Kimberleys in the NW part of Western Australia or Orange.
What's the most beautiful language to your ear?
Italian, and to my eyes, body language.
Pick one of each pair: mountains or ocean; fog or rain; spring or autumn; love or valor.
Mountains; rain (particularly now we are currently in a wicked drought); spring; love.
What is your proudest accomplishment?
To work against the tide and be successful.
Which deep thinker has influenced your business?
My family: Diana, Damian & Daniel.
What one trait do you look for in employees?
To think.
Which of your virtues has winemaking honed?
Persistence.
What wine web site do you recommend?
Philip Shaw or Cumulus. I rarely use the Web; it is too time consuming.
Bottle of wine you'd like to drink with your last meal?
A Philip Shaw which I have not made yet. Perhaps next year’s or maybe it’s a dream!