Want to make your own wine with your name on the label? Simple. Fly to Adelaide, capital of South Australia, and be driven to Australia’s most famous wine region. Not Hunter Valley, not Yarra, not Margaret River. We’re talking about Barossa here. Barossa’s reputation as Australia’s finest wine region has been built over a hundred and fifty years. More than twenty per cent of the country’s wine is made in Barossa. Giant wineries like Seppette, Penfold, and Jacobs Creek ship millions of litres worldwide daily. Flagship grapes that make white Rieslings and red Shiraz wine styles have put the Barossa name on the world map.
Bill Biscoe, Penfolds’ wine educator, leads our motley crew of visitors to a room that reminds me of my chemistry laboratory in college. The difference is that the winemaker’s laboratory is sparkling white, and lined with so many bottles of red wine, that you could mistake it fora trendy new restaurant.Most Grenache and Grenache Blends come from regions in South Australia and often from old vines. Grenache is thought to have originated in Spain. It is an important and widely planted variety in Southern Rhone. Grenache is a versatile variety and is, with its flavours of berry fruit, cherries, earth and spice, used to make both light and heavy red wines.
Shiraz is the most widely planted grape variety in Australia. It currently represents 40 per cent of the total red grape crush and constitutes one fifth of all wine grape production in Australia. Shiraz underwent a renaissance when the international world began to focus on Oz. Ripe fruit, a fleshy mid-palate, soft tannins and a kick of American oak, became the template for Australian Shiraz.
Mourvedre is Spain’s second most important variety after Grenache. Mourvedre adapts well to a wide range of soils and loves warmer climates.
It produces thick-skinned berries, which provide perfume, inky, gamey, spicy, anise characters and gritty tannins. It is also used to add complexity to the wine.