banrock station : sparkling shiraz
south eastern australia
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you say “sparkling what?” shiraz, as in ‘red wine’ shiraz?
yes indeed. and i had the very same reaction when i first heard of it in january ’07.
my friend lonnie had been travelling to australia during her teaching ‘winter’ break (or whatever they call it in china) and i connected her with my friend esther (more like my big sister, really) who has been living in sydney for many years now. on australia day i received an email from lonnie, with some pictures, and in her email she was telling me that she had had a wonderful picnic with esther for the celebration, sipping sparkling shiraz, and that they were thinking of me. and my reaction was exactly that, sparkling shiraz?
apparently it’s something pretty big in australia, and given their climate, i’m not particularly surprised that the australians created a way of enjoying red wine in a refreshing manner. so yes, like any sparkling wine, it should be served chilled. although i haven’t done extensive research on the subject, the origin of sparkling red wine is probably european. i do believe the italians also drink it.
so what does it taste like? well, it doesn’t taste much like red wine. just like a sparkling white wine differs tremendously from a regular white wine, so does the red sparkling from its counterpart. but believe me, it’s good. you might say you don’t like sparkling wine, and i would still recommend you try it. it is definitely different, but most people i’ve now introduced to it have been very pleasantly surprised.
as for pairing it with food, you got me there. i have absolutely no idea. i’ve only enjoyed it on its own, and i cannot even imagine what it would be good with. someone said to me recently that most sparkling wines are designed to be enjoyed on their own, so maybe that’s simply the answer. if you have some thoughts on this, please share them!
now as for finding it in liquor stores, it can be a bit tricky. here in british columbia, we can find it quite easily. the banrock station seems to be the most popular, and it sells for $16. there is also a seaview that is generally readily available at $15 (prices vary in private liquor stores). other australian brands are also listed on the bcls website, but i’ve never personally seen them in stores. i did however find an italian sparkling red called lambrusco, which sells for only $11, with a lower alcohol content. without a doubt it is not as nice as the two i just mentioned, but it is very drinkable indeed!
for all other provinces, i cannot tell you what is available, if any. i do know for a fact that the province of québec did not carry any sparkling red wines at all as of september ’08. (i had an employee of the saq search the computer database for me, and nada, niente, nothing). as for the usa, i’m not sure how the import business of liquors works, but i’m sure you can find some, somewhere!
so to you all, good luck hunting a bottle wherever you are, and enjoy!
a perfect companion for the summer...
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banrock station alcohol content 14%
$15
red blend
