Professor Bainbridge...on law, politics, religion, culture & food

Sparking Shiraz: An Appreciation

When Helen and I were in Australia last summer, we found many wonderful wines, but our favorite discovery was the sparkling Shiraz we first tasted at Domaine Chandon. It was a revelation: a red wine made into a champagne-style sparkling wine.

I don't understand why this style of wine isn't in huge demand in the United States. It offers the cold bubbles we love in cola drinks; indeed, some taste just like cherry cola (albeit with a kick!). Also, it can be drunk far colder than most red wines (45 minutes in the refrigerator is ideal), which also should appeal to an American palate brought up on soft drinks. Yet most are vinified to produce dry wines (i.e., not sweet), so they match well with food.

Sparkling Shiraz is a true red wine, so those of us hoping the French paradox will stave off heart trouble ought to embrace it. It's got intense berry flavors, far beyond any true Champagne, which matches nicely to the spicy food we love. In fact, if there is a better match for pork or chicken doused in barbecue sauce, I haven't found it. The bubbles - along with a healthy dose of acids and round tannins - scrub your palate clean, which makes it a great match not only for BBQ but also greasy foods like pepperoni pizza.

Although the froth signals a fun wine, most are serious wines that offer the connoisseur all the intellectual pleasure of a quality still red wine. If you pay attention, the difference between a sparkling Shiraz sourced from the Barossa Valley and one made from Yarra Valley grapes become apparent with experience.

There is no reason why US wineries couldn't make great sparkling red wines. After all, we're making great Syrah in places like California and Washington, which would make fine sparkling Shiraz. Besides which, there was a time when California's own Zinfandel routinely was made into champagne style white wines (and some wineries still do so, especially Beringer). Why not turn red Zinfandel wine into our sparkling red wine? I just don't get it.

For my reviews of Australian sparkling Shiraz, go here. The best US source I've found for these wines is the Jug Shop in San Francisco, which sells online and ships to most of those enlightened states that allow direct-to-consumer sales.