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Shiraz Wine With Food
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Thank you for visiting Shiraz Wine with Food. We try to provide you with the most complete information we can about how to use wine with food. If you have recipes to contribute, please do and we will give you credit if you wish. We update our sources constantly. Please scroll down to learn more.
Food to Eat with A Shiraz
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Shiraz is a full bodied wine, rich, dark, full bodied, heavy in tannin and peppery, with a lush texture and ripe fruit flavors, it is delicious with lamb beef, duck and goose complimenting their somewhat heavier flavors. It also goes with and more highly flavored meats like Elk, bear, Boar, Caribou and Moose
History and Characteristics
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Shiraz is the most widely planted grape variety in Australia representing 40% of the total red grape crush and one fifth of all wine grape production. It is without doubt Australia's favourite red variety, both domestically and internationally.
However, it is not a "Shiraz" grape. Australian Shiraz is made from the Petite Sirah. It did not always enjoy the popularity that it does today. Until the mid-1900s, Shiraz was grown purely for fortified wine production. Its ability to get very ripe, along with its inherent rich flavours made is perfect for this wine style. When the red table wine boom began in Australia, Shiraz was overlooked while the refined and sophisticated Cabernet Sauvignon became the wine of fashion.
Shiraz reached its lowest point when the South Australian government implemented a vine pull scheme to replace old, low yielding Shiraz vines with the more fashionable Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon. Thankfully, some growers resisted, giving us the iconic old black Shiraz style that Australia is famous for today.
Shiraz underwent a renaissance when the international world began to focus on Australia. Never before had Shiraz as opulent, as powerful and as seductive as this been seen. Ripe fruit, a fleshy mid palate, soft tannins and a kick of American oak became the template for Australian Shiraz. And the regions of focus were the Barossa Valley, McLaren Vale and the Hunter Valley.
The beauty of Shiraz is that it can flourish in a range of climates and soils depending on aging and the winemakers artistry. The cooler regions of Central Victoria, Coonawarra and Padthaway became known for structured wines that had black cherry, pepper and spice characters rather than the chocolate and stewed plums found in warmer climates.
