Discover the Facts on Shiraz Wine: From Ancient Persia to Australia
Australia is the homeland of many sorts of wines, but the only one that is standing out as Australia’s signature wine is Shiraz. Its popularity in Australia came to be with the global wine culture looking for new places to showcase and export the red Shiraz sort of grape.
Today, 4 out of 5 wineries in Australia produce Shiraz wine, since the demand grows more and more every day, making this wine authentic for the Australian wine culture. Let’s learn a thing or two about this marvellous drink.
The Origin of Shiraz
The famous legend says that the cultivation of the Shiraz grape was first evidenced 2,500 years BC, in the eponymous city of Shiraz, the capital city of Persia (now Iran). By the 9th century, this city has already established a reputation for producing the finest wine in the world. In the 17th century, a French merchant brought the Shiraz wine to France and spread it in Europe as he attended banquets.
However, there is no clear evidence that Shiraz wine comes from Iran. But there is proof that this noble sort of grapes originates from eastern France, producing the famous red wine called Syrah.
The Shiraz wine’s name is an Australian variation from the French Syrah red wine. The red syrah grapes was first time introduced in Australia in 1832 by James Busby, the father of the Australian wine industry who took an example from the European wine production. The Australian landscape came out a perfect match for preserving this noble sort of grapes. The warm days, the cool nights, and the long growing season made it ideal to produce and preserve the Shiraz.
Since then, the Australians managed to keep the Shiraz red wine distinctive for the Australian ground and foster the heritage of being a Shiraz producing country. The Barossa Valley, Hunter Valley, McLaren Vale and Adelaide Hills are just a part of the Australian grounds where this noble wine is produced today.
What Makes This Type of Wine So Remarkable?
If you’re wondering what wine to open on your next celebration, don’t hesitate to get a nice bottle of Shiraz red wine. This wine will spoil your senses and give you the opportunity to enjoy the rich tastes combined perfectly in a single glass. After all, the Australians kept this noble wine as their cultural heritage throughout the years for a lot of reasons. Here’s just a few of them.
The Colour of Shiraz
The Shiraz sort of grape is produced by crossing Dureza, a dark-skinned berry with Mondeuse Blance, a white-skinned grape, which gives this wine a deep ruby-red to purple hue. The Shiraz wine is often inky and opaque purple-black at a young age. As it gets older, it tends to lose its pigmentation and get a magenta hue.
How Does Shiraz Taste Like?
The Shiraz red wine is made in a dry style. This means that after the grapes are pressed, the sugar from the grape must is converted into alcohol by yeast. But the Shiraz wine has a little touch of residual sugar that is left behind on purpose, to give this wine a hint of richness and sweetness.
When you taste this wine, you can expect a rich and juicy mid-palate. But there’s actually a little difference between the French Syrah and the Australian Shiraz.
Talking about the French Syrah, it’s a wine with brisk acidity and has a huge range of flavours from smoke, bacon, herbs, red and black fruits, white and black pepper, to floral violet notes. If this wine is aged in oak, it additionally gives the wine a vanilla spice.
The Australian Shiraz, on the other hand, is more concentrated than the Syrah and offers rich jammy aromas that range from blueberry and blackberry flavours to black pepper, bacon and beef jerky spices. If you’re looking for a bold, full-bodied wine, then you should definitely go for a glass of Australian Shiraz.
The Level of Alcohol in Shiraz
The alcohol level in the Shiraz wine is usually determined by the weather during which it was harvested, and the ground where the grape is grown. The Australian Shiraz can range from 14.5–15.5% of alcohol, due to the warmer climate in Australia, unlike the Syrah grapes that are grown in the cooler French regions.
The Health Benefits of Shiraz
While enjoying the rich tastes and aromas of the Shiraz wine, you can rest assured that when consumed in moderate amounts, it packs a lot of health benefits.
It’s generally known that dry wines contain less sugar and therefore fewer calories than sweet wines. Typically, a glass of Shiraz contains around 130 calories (120 from alcohol and 10 from carbohydrates). Therefore, it’s scientifically proven that a glass of wine per day doesn’t cause any gain of weight.
Consuming a glass of wine has many other benefits for your health too. The Shiraz grape is also known to contain flavonoids and the powerful resveratrol. The flavonoids in the Shiraz, such as quercetin and anthocyanin are very well known for their anti-inflammatory and antibacterial activities, and combined together have a great anti-cancer potential.
On the other hand, resveratrol is a very powerful antioxidant that is mostly contained in the skin of the Shiraz grapes, unlike the other sorts of grapes. The resveratrol is known for protecting cardiovascular health, has anti-aging properties, and helps to fight cancer too. The doctors recommend daily consumption of 2mg resveratrol for an average adult, which approximately equals one glass of red wine (1.9 ± 1.7 mg).
How to Consume Shiraz for the Best Taste?
Like any other wine, the Shiraz wine also has an ideal range of temperature for serving. This wine usually contains higher levels of alcohol and is ideally served in the temperature range of 15.5 to 18.5 °C.
In other words, it’s recommended to keep the Shiraz in the fridge for approximately 15 minutes before serving. This will give the wine a slight chill and will prevent a dull flavour. However, make sure you don’t serve this wine too cold because it will only make the flavours muted.
To get the most of the flavours of the Shiraz, combine it with dishes of red meats, such as game, lamb, beef stews and briskets, or beef ragu pasta. Not only the black pepper flavours will bring out the savoury taste of the meet, but red meets often require more robust wine to balance them and provide a rich counterpoint to the dish.
The Shiraz wine is also a great match for smoky-character cheese platers, such as blue cheese or cheddar. The fruity notes of the Shiraz will give the perfect contrast to the rustic, nutty tastes of these platers.