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Shiraz Syrah Crystal Wine Glasses

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Shiraz from the Barossa Valley District

The Barossa Valley district is an appellation located in Australia’s most productive wine region, South Australia. It has been said that Southern Australia is to Australian wine what the state of California is to the United States. South Australia accounts for over 50% of the country’s total wine output with a majority of this being bulk wine production, but the South Australia region and mainly the Barossa Valley, account for the country’s most acclaimed and most expensive wines of quality. In the Barossa, the summer days are long, scorching and arid which allow the grapes to ripen faster, allowing the vines to produce wines which are a easily distinguishable yet above all, giving us one of the world’s most distinctive wine styles, Barossa Valley Shiraz. An unfortunate situation in the 70’s and 80’s had growers jumping on the Cabernet Sauvignon bandwagon, thereby neglecting most of the Shiraz vines. This became somewhat of a blessing in disguise. It left the region with an overlooked treasure of mature "old vines" Shiraz. Of course, with the phylloxera epidemic of the late 19th century completely unaffecting most of Australia, and perhaps close to 100% of the Barossa, this did not hurt the outlook of these stately vines either.

One of the most iconic wines in the world comes from the Penfolds Winery in the Barossa Valley. Legendary in stature and with a price tag to back it up, the "top of the mountain" in Australian Shiraz is the famed Penfold "Grange" Shiraz. Not unlike Bordeaux first growths, the Penfold Grange fetches anywhere from $300-700 per bottle over the last fifteen or so vintages. Each Grange vintage can see an addition of 2% to 13% Cabernet Sauvignon and is always aged in American Oak. A handful of Grange vintages are 100% Shiraz in top years. Keep in mind also that Grange is a regional Shiraz meaning only the best Shiraz grapes are bought in by Penfolds, now part of Southcorp, from other parts of Australia for the blending.

For a more economical spin of Penfold's handiwork, pick up a bottle of their RWT Shiraz ($70-90) which is made from 100% Barossa Valley fruit and aged in 100% French oak. Some other Barossa Valley producers we recommend are: Three Rivers, Grant Burge and Elderton (especially Elderton's Command label).