Making the case for sparkling shiraz

With temperatures staying stubbornly high with no respite in sight, customers have been downing more bottles of white and rose wines at a faster clip lately. While that is great for retailers now, according to the economic theory of marginal utility, at some point, people are going to find more fun in kombucha than wine. So before this unfortunate scenario comes to pass, it seems a good time to explore and discuss a less common vino option that could fit into the category of refreshing wine, the sparkling Shiraz.

Sparkling Shiraz is a unique wine style that originated in Australia. While available now in many parts of the New World, Australia is still very much its spiritual home. The development of sparkling shiraz can be traced back to the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The first attempts to make sparkling red wines date back to the 1880s. Winemakers in South Australia, particularly in the Barossa Valley and surrounding areas experimented with various red grape varieties, including Shiraz, to create sparkling wines. The warm climate of these regions was well-suited to growing Shiraz grapes with the rich, ripe flavours needed for this wine style.

From the beginning, these winemakers adapted traditional champagne production methods to create sparkling Shiraz. Secondary fermentation in the bottle creates the bubbles, a process known as méthode traditionnelle in Australia. In effect, this results in a wine that combines the rich, robust flavours of Shiraz with the effervescence of sparkling wine. Visualise this. As you pour yourself a glass of sparkling Shiraz, you see tiny bubbles rising rapidly from the bottom of the glass and forming a thick layer of bubbles like a cap over the wine. These bubbles are very light and the cap disappears as quickly as it is formed, leaving behind only a thin film of bubbles that tantalises your tongue as you sip from the glass.

Sparkling Shiraz is a very popular summer wine in Australia primarily because the full bodied structure that Shiraz is famous for is the perfect foil for barbequed meats. At the same time, the fresh acidity and sparkling nature of this wine keeps the palate fresh. Imagine having a picnic at the beach or a poolside barbeque while sipping a chilled glass of sparkling red wine. This combination of meat with shiraz is a natural pairing, but the light bubbles bring forth an additional dimension of enjoyment.

In Singapore unfortunately, good sparkling Shiraz options are limited. Owing to the high holding costs of running a wine business and the small local market size, most wine importers do not voluntarily bring in sparkling Shiraz. The belief goes that no one in Singapore drinks sparkling Shiraz, so if ever a sparkling Shiraz is brought in, it is usually at the behest of the winery which insists that sparkling Shiraz be included in the importer's portfolio as a condition for awarding the agency. As a result, many of the sparkling shirazes that reach our shores tend to be of entry level grade and are here for reasons other than quality. This becomes a vicious cycle, because consumers who tried the wine are not sold on this style, and this convinces importers that "Yup, sparkling Shiraz doesn't sell here!".

But if you ever had the opportunity to taste a good sparkling Shiraz, you may be sold on the idea. It may feel strange at first, but if you keep an open mind, you may find yourself enjoy it. The Schild Estate Barossa Valley Sparkling Shiraz is a good starting point for people willing to explore. 

Schild Estate is a very good winery established in 1952 in the Barossa Valley. Usually, sparkling Shiraz are non-vintaged (NV), meaning juice from different vintages are put together to create a house style. Schild Estate on the other hand bottled the sparkling Shiraz as a vintage wine. The grapes that go into this wine comes from the same vineyard that supplies the grapes to their acclaimed Schild Estate Barossa Valley Shiraz. The Barossa Valley Shiraz was on Wine Spectator's Top 100 Wines in the World list in 2009 and 2010. Good ingredients are the main criteria for a good dish. The same is true for good wine, as the Schild Sparkling Shiraz clearly demonstrates.

The Schild Estate Barossa Valley Sparkling Shiraz shows a deep ruby colour. The wine is jam packed with dark fruits as you would expect from a Barossa Valley Shiraz, with delicate hints of chocolate and spice. There is a somewhat creamy texture to the wine and tannins have softened considerably to make this wine into a delicious specimen of full bodied smooth red wine that dances on your palate. The natural sweetness from ripe fruits are well balanced with the acidity that comes through with each sip. Drink this wine chilled in a normal red wine glass. It is perfect to be enjoyed on its own and will do wonders with a nicely seared piece of steak.

The Schild Estate Barossa Valley Sparkling Shiraz is well positioned to be the wine that launched a thousand sips. It is relatively inexpensive but offers more than enough for you to have a good idea of what to expect. There are more options like Mollydooker Miss Molly Sparkling Shiraz that will move the narrative forward as you get comfortable with this style. Wine never fails to amaze when we look beyond the usual, whether beyond a particular grape varietal or region or food pairing we are familiar with, to what we considered as proper drinks for any particular weather.

Have you ever had a sparkling shiraz? Do let me know if it has been a treat or a disaster for you.