As winter starts to set in down here in the Southern Hemisphere it is time to think about wines that fit the season and with the winter solstice on June 21st and plans for a mid winter Christmas feast, a sparkling shiraz seems like the perfect tipple. This style of wine, like a Christmas roast dinner with all the trimmings, is big, rich and bold and with its bubbly crimson red colour, makes it perfect for a winter celebration.

The Aussies have had more than a century of crafting sparkling shiraz and have the recipe down to perfection. First made as a still wine, it undergoes secondary fermentation in the bottle to create the bubbles.

Like many Aussie still reds, sparkling reds do not have to be overly expensive.

From South Australia hails the Wyndham Estate Bin S555 Sparkling Shiraz ($16), full of rich plummy fruit with spicy vanillin oak, hints of tar and violets while Banrock Station Sparkling Shiraz ($14) from Riverlands is slightly fruitier with plums, blackberries, a hint of liquorice and a dash of smoky oak.

Morris Sparkling Shiraz Durif ($19) from northeast Victoria has the addition of the obscure 'durif' grape that adds a soft earthy richness and with the broad fruit flavours and hints of oak it fulfils the palate nicely.

If you are looking for a couple of well-priced user-friendly reds to suit a social occasion, then look no further than the new release Manara Rock wines ($12-$14), sealed with a screwcap.

Manara Rock Barossa Valley Shiraz 2002 is creamy and soft with chunky, chocolatey spicy oak and cherry coconut fruit. It has a touch of sweetness and will match well to Thai, Japanese or Chinese foods.

Manara Rock Limestone Coast Cabernet Sauvignon 2002 is a little drier with jammy redcurrants, mint and earthy tannins. An approachable quaffer, it is better suited to roast lamb.

Pepperjack Barossa Shiraz 2002 ($21) is more upmarket. Rich and warming with great colour, juicy tannins, spicy oak and terrific fruit, this wine has cellar potential but is also delicious now - try with char-grilled steak and a green pepper sauce.

Even more amazing is the outstanding Mamre Brook Barossa Shiraz 2002. It has an utterly sensational colour with opaque purple black almost right to the rims where it shows crimson purple for a millimetre or so. With chocolate, mocha, wonderfully fine grained tannins, concentrated red fruits and liquid chocolate in the palate, it has the structure to stand up to the 15% alcohol, that's for sure. It was served at a wine options practise earlier in the week and I thought it had to be one of the more expensive Aussie wines, but it wasn't. It is a steal at my local wine shop here in Auckland, selling for just $18.95 a bottle.

Looking for something local (i.e. Auckland), then try the Weeping Sands Cabernet Sauvignon 2002 ($24) from Waiheke. Juicy with the typical blackcurrant (ribena) of cabernet and creamy oak in the background, it is an ideal choice for the traditional winter roast.

© Sue Courtney
18th June 2004
Parts of this article apepared in the Rodney Times on 17th June 2004