Christmas in a Glass

Christmas in a Glass

Directions


Forget the blush Champagne, the hip ’n happening Prosecco, the pretty-but-bitter aperitivo. Greet your guests this festive season with something joyful and unrestrained: a drop-dead-gorgeous glass of chilled bubbling crimson with a foaming violet-purple crown. 

Spicy, creamy, tangy and plush, with blackberry, cherry, raspberry and chocolate, this is Shiraz in all its complex, fruit-laden glory – but with the sumptuous addition of bubbles. Genius. 

Fair Dinkum Wine

Sparkling reds aren’t unique to Australia. Italy does a great line in light-to-medium bodied, sweetish sparklers (think Lambrusco or Spumante Rosso), and of course France has its sparkling Pinots Noir – but the rich and complex, full-bodied Sparkling Shiraz is ours alone: we created it, we perfected it and we are its advocates and champions around the world. 

What’s the story?

The Great Aussie Style was spawned in the late 1800s – although there’s some argy-bargy about who did it first, and when: was it Frenchman, Auguste d’Argent, in Victoria in 1878 - or Edmund Mazure in South Australia a few years later? With the benefit of hindsight, the boffins tend to prefer Mazure for the guernsey. But while the Frenchmen were contesting the quinella, a third player, Hans Irvine, had been enthusiastically developing the style at his Great Western (Victoria) vineyard. And it was Irvine who first achieved show success, earning a commendation at the RAS Melbourne Wine Show in 1894.

Sparkling Burgundy, as it was then known, developed a small but passionate following.  It was produced for many years in South Australia (at Mazure’s Auldana vineyard) and in NSW (in Minchinbury), but most notably and most consistently at Seppelt Great Western – where the legendary Colin Preece directed production for more than 30 years. Then in the mid-1970s, something truly appalling happened… 

Cold Duck

A cheap, sweet, carbonated concoction imported from America, Cold Duck cut a swathe through Australia, inflicting some serious reputational damage to our own fine Sparkling Shiraz as it went. It took time - and talent - to effect a recovery. In 1983, Seppelt’s newly-minted chief winemaker, Ian Mackenzie launched the counter-attack. Having tasted a back-vintage of Preece’s sparkling red, he immediately reinstated Sparkling Shiraz to the portfolio, and set about reviving the nation’s interest in this noble style.

Sparkling Shiraz 

As Aussie as Chesty Bond, Sparkling Shiraz is Australia’s great gift to the wine-drinking world - though to be honest, some of the world has been slow to show its gratitude. (Who cares - all the more for us!) Pair it with roast turkey, sticky BBQ ribs, Chinese duck or chocolate desserts. Rumour even has it that it’s a knockout with crispy bacon and fried eggs, but as you might imagine, WineDown is completely unable verify that match. Ahem. 

Original Sparkling Shiraz NV Original Sparkling Shiraz NV
  • 25% off RRP
RRP (750 mL)
$27.00
750 mL
$20.00
6 x 750 mL
$120.00
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