Shiraz – The Great Australian Red Wine

Shiraz is one of the most popular wines
around in the UK.
This is because it is an easy to drink wine that goes with lots of different
types of food. In fact it is its spicy full bodied taste that makes it
something that you can drink with hot Indian, Mexican or even Chinese food. This
is because the Shiraz grapes that are used to produce the wine take a while to
ripen making them full of sweetness before they go into wine production
ensuring that the wines taste does not dominate the food, but at the same time
the food does not take over the taste of the wine.

 

Shiraz is actually the second name for
this grape – the same grape is known as syrah in France.

 

Shiraz
has been developed by Australia and really been transformed into a style which
suits New World wine (there are still plenty of wines made in other countries
using the grape but they are almost a different type of wine) In fact it is
estimated that Shiraz is the fifth most planted red wine grape in the world so
that is why it is a wine that we see a lot of on the supermarket shelves.

 

Australia has produced wine for
a long time but it wasn’t until the 1970s onwards that the wines produced there
started to have an impact on the rest of the world. Most of the vineyards are
in the South East of the country and the names of the districts that produce
wine are now household names in the UK following their publicity
through the wine that they manufacture. Possibly the most famous of all
Australian Shiraz comes from the Barossa
Valley. This area is in Southern Australia and is one of the oldest and best
known regions. Other well known areas are Hunter
Valley in New
South Wales, Mudgee, the Goulburn
Valley and Great Western in the Victoria area and the Coonewarra region in Southern Australia.

 

So
what should you look for when you are looking for a good Shiraz? Firstly look at where the wine comes
from and then look at the label of the bottle. Remember, Shiraz is a thick-skinned grape, which takes
longer to ripen than other plants. That is why is does well in warmer climates.
However, because of this, it is not always a great wine to drink young. It
needs a bit of aging. Also think about how you are going to be drinking the
wine. Shiraz is
a strong, fruity wine and therefore needs to be drunk with flavoursome food or
the wine will dominate the meal.

Article Source: http://www.theukarticledirectory.co.uk