You don’t see much mention of the Gini Coefficient, and certainly not in articles about wine, so why am I bringing it up? The election, because your vote is likely to send it one way or the other.

Now, for those of you who aren’t sure what the Gini Coefficient is, it’s a measure of wealth distribution. If one person in a country has all the wealth the GC is 1.0, if the wealth is evenly distributed, it’s 0. Put another way, one person has a $200 bottle of wine, or 10 people each have a $20 bottle of wine.

Australia has a GC of 0.33, the UK is slightly higher at 0.35, USA is much higher at 0.48, South Africa is the least unequal country in the world at 0.63. The most equal countries are the ex-communist states of Slovenia 0.246, Czech Republic and Slovakia, both at 0.25. Link here.

Things get interesting when you compare rates of happiness with Gini numbers. In 2016 the Harvard Business Review published this article – Income Inequality Makes Whole Countries Less Happy.

“We examined data from the Gallup World Poll and the World Top Incomes Database and found that the more income is concentrated in the hands of a few, the more likely individuals are to report lower levels of life satisfaction and more negative daily emotional experiences.”

Two things stood out to me – and I have to say I’m no economist:

• people had more negative experiences as national income inequality rises

• and their overall sense of well-being dropped.

So, we’re a happier country when 10 people have a $20 bottle of wine each.

The Scandi countries all score highly on happiness – despite having low levels of sunlight which have proven to cause depression and ridiculously expensive wine. They also have low Gini numbers and very high tax rates – there is actually a clear correlation between higher tax and happiness.

You can reach your own conclusions as to which political party will lower or increase Australia’s Gini which is trending up, along with the rest of the OECD, but let me end on this – the only trickle-down economics that actually work are those at play when you are drinking a good wine.

Lightfoot Rose – I’ve raved about their Pinot Noir before. This rosé is a combo of that hallowed variety and shiraz, which is unusual, but presumably effective, as it has taken out the Trophy at the Gippsland wine show 4 times. While I love their Myrtle Point Pinot (wow, point is an anagram of pinot!) I wasn’t that excited about this one.

Seppeltsfield 2021 Nero d’Avola about $25. This southern Italian variety thrives in the Barossa climate. The vinous equivalent of the beef olives my mother used to make, rich, leathery and full of fruit, it will surely increase national happiness.

Next month is my birthday – a significant one so I’m going to hit a few nice bottles from the cellar and pretend I live in a country with a Gini of 1, where I have all the wealth. I will of course share my thoughts.