Sparkling Aussie Shiraz as summer draws to a close (#worldwinetravel)

It’s been the Summer of Syrah here in my little corner of the Pacific Northwest!

Earlier in August, which happens to be Washington Wine Month, a group of 10 friends and family members got together to taste six Washington Syrah wines. Now it’s time to skip across the ocean and cap off this seasonal sensory adventure by pouring a sparkling Australian Shiraz from McLaren Vale.

Yes, Syrah and Shiraz are the same grape. But sparkling Shiraz? That’s quite possibly an Australian invention.

The World Wine Travel group is focusing on Australian sparkling, fortified and Tasmanian wines this month. If reading this post in time, please join the bloggers for a Twitter chat this Saturday, 8/27, starting at 8 am PT/11 am ET. Simply follow the #worldwinetravel hashtag.

The region

Located on the northwest Fleurieu Peninsula of Southeast Australia, about 22 miles south of Adelaide, the McLaren Vale wine region is well known and highly regarded for growing full-bodied, ripe Shiraz.

Overall, the climate is Mediterranean, with sea breezes helping to moderate temperatures during the growing season. Cooling winds in some vineyards help the grapes to retain acidity and structure.

The summers and most of the autumn season are dry, which keeps vine diseases at bay. McLaren Vale vineyards boast a wide range of soil types.

The producer

Tony Parkinson, founder of the Penny’s Hill, The Chook and Thomas Goss wine brands, grew up in the McLaren Vale region. His parents owned an almond orchard that got started in 1952. But Tony didn’t join the almond business. He taught school for five years before starting a successful advertising agency. He had also entered the wine business on the side. 

“I went into wine before it boomed. In the 1980s, there was a surplus of grapes and the government offered incentives to pull them up – they called it the vine pull. I started looking when this was going on. Couldn’t find vineyards so we planted our own. My father thought I was crazy and asked me why. I told him that wine is older than the bible.”

– Tony Parkinson, founder

Parkinson planted his 80-acre grazing property to grapes in 1991. The property is located on the floodplains of the Angas and Bremer River in the Langhorne Creek area of McLaren Vale. One of the oldest grape-growing regions in Australia, Langhorne Creek has been traditionally planted to reds and known for producing spicy and elegant Shiraz.

Tony and his family were living in Adelaide and decided they would prefer their three children to grow up in the country, so they moved back to the McLaren Vale region and built a house on the Penny’s Hill vineyards. For 15 years, Tony kept up both businesses, commuting an hour to the advertising agency while someone else managed the wine business.

Ownership and management of the business has now passed onto fellow South Australian winemaker Warren Randall of the Randall Wine Group.

The Chook Sparkling Shiraz, South Australia
100% Shiraz

“The most important person in this business is our winemaker.” 

Tony Parkinson 

Beginning in 2013, that winemaker has been a woman: Alexia Roberts. She joined the Galvanized Wine Group after working vintages in Emilia Romagna, Italy, and Burgundy, France, and producing wines from South Australia’s key regions: Barossa Valley, Adelaide Hills, Langhorne Creek and Coonawarra.

This non-vintage sparkling wine is made in the methode champenoise (same as Champagne) as a blend of Shiraz batches aged between 3 and 5 years old. Each fruit parcel is matured separately in French oak barrels prior to blending with some younger vintage Shiraz. Chook is slang for domestic fowl or chicken.

My tasting notes: Pours strawberry-pink bubbles settling into an opaque, intensely ruby color. Mixed berries on the nose, followed by berries, cinnamon, vanilla and a hint of spice on the palate. Slightly sweet, smooth, creamy and delicious. Reminds me of Lambrusco. Alcohol: 13%. Price: $23.

The pairing: Grilled medallions of tuna, basil/parsley couscous topped with chopped cucumber, spinach/fennel salad and chocolate Oreo cookies all paired perfectly with this sparkling Shiraz. For the tuna, I blended together the following ingredients and marinated at room temperature for 20 minutes:

• 1/3rd olive oil to 2/3rds Dijon mustard
• 1 tsp. to 1 tbsp. chopped fennel leaves
• Salt and pepper to taste

The salad (not pictured) included spinach, thinly sliced fennel, pumpkin seeds and dried cranberries dressed with balsamic vinaigrette.

Be sure to check out all of this month’s World Wine Travel posts:

• Lori is tasting “Tasmanian Sparkling and Egg Rolls” at Exploring the Wine Glass
• Camilla is showcasing “Tasmania + Hawaii: Celebrating with an Island Wine and Island Eats” at Culinary Adventures with Camilla 
• Jeff shares how we can “Discover Rutherglen Stickies” at Food Wine Click!
• Robin is pairing “Sparkling Wine from Jansz Tasmania and a Tassie-inspired seafood curry pie” at Crushed Grape Chronicles
• Kat has a “Surprise!  South Australia Pét-Nat is on the Rise” at The Corkscrew Concierge
• Susannah is featuring “Tasmanian Chardonnay” at Avvinare
• Deanna is popping an “Australian Sparkling Wine from Deviation Road” at Wineivore
• Linda is having “Sparkling Aussie Shiraz as summer draws to a close” at My Full Wine Glass
• Nicole is pouring “Bubbles from Way Down Under: Jansz Premium Cuvée Brut from Tasmania with Lobster Tartines” at Somm’s Table

Sources: Epicurean wines, Penny’s Hill, wine-searcher