Shiraz Wines

Shiraz is Happenin

It is a happenin’ wine varietal now and it has been for the last five years in the retail sector (it has won over many California Cabernet, Zin, and Merlot drinkers) and on fine wine lists nation wide. Shiraz is the most widely planted red grape in Australia and the selection offered to the world market has been growing over the last few years. Shiraz is a great wine grape. Get to know it if you enjoy red wine, and get used to talking about Australia when you are talking wine with your wine-appreciating friends. If you have any; wine drinking friends that is.

Shiraz is a nice blackberryish, plummy, full-to-medium bodied, peppery, dark purple mouth filling, intensely interesting red wine. It is age-worthy in many cases but mostly ready to drink on arrival. Shiraz gets a lot of coverage now and I think it will keep emerging as one of the main players fighting for shelf space in the next ten years.


Most wine retailers I know are continually expanding their Aussie section and Shiraz is the main player right now. Aussie Chardonnay, Riesling and Pinot Noir are worth checking out also. Shiraz has millions of wine drinkers still to reach but with the combination of the pleasantness of the wine, matched with the consistency in quality, and the way it just rolls off your tongue when ordering it.

Merlot was easy to pronounce and tasted good, and sold like a mother in the late 80’s and early 90’s.Now Shiraz is coming across as the same, Delicious and easy to say. Shiraz is the same grape as Syrah. They call it Syrah in France, where it finds it’s native home in the Rhone valley. It is made into big, beefy, ink-black wine in the Northern Rhone region and produces the big hitting wine of Hermitage and Cote Rotie. American labels call it Syrah also. Shiraz is the all important benchmark wine of Australia.

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