Yes, an uncommon bond of the artistic and iconic works of a respected winemaker that leads to the unexpected.Unexpected, except when it's in the Wine Zone.
Ha! Only a few will get the obscure reference and recognize the photo but hats off to those folks.
Sparkling Shiraz - even the words seem misplaced in the same sentence. Still, I had an email one day offering up a sample of Wyndham Estate Bin 555 Sparkling Shiraz. The curiousity was killing me until the day it arrived and tonight when I opened it.The marketing folks promoted the sparkling wine as a nice and satisfiying alternative for Thanksgiving. So tonight, I roasted a chicken with onions, apples, thyme and lots of rosemary. I made some sage dressing I added cranberries to and had my little pre-Thanksgiving feast!
I popped the cork on the Wyndham wine and really enjoyed it with my roasted hen. I'm still a little unsure of what to make of it.
The wine certainly has an effervesence as its poured into the glass. It has a dark crimson color and a nose of - imagine this - Shiraz! I picked up more oak on the nose than I did vanilla.
At first I was just confused by the fizz. But after the wine was open for awhile, I was appreciating the rich and spicy Shiraz flavor with the buzz. It's a medium weight wine with a very soft finish. And, its definitely something different!
The wine comes from Hunter Valley in New South Wales, Australia. It's 13.5 percent alcohol with a suggested retail price of $18.
There are several sparkling red wines from Australia, I've learned, and it may take another or two to know what I think of it.
I liked the wine. I'm not sure what to think of the effervesence but it sure is a change of pace. I'd recommend anyone try it. Some are going to love it as something as a big change of pace. I suspect others are going to think they've entered the Twilight Zone!
Send comment or questions to: hewitthoward@gmail.com
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