Shiraz Viognier
A new wine style becoming more popular in Australia
Shiraz Viognier is an increasingly popular wine in Australia, but how is it made? The name of these wines includes two grape varieties, Shiraz, the most popular Australian red wine variety and Viognier, a white wine variety which has emerged from obscurity in the Northern Rhone region of France.
Blended Wines
Most wine lovers know that wines can be made from just one variety (varietal) or they can be made from two more varieties (blended wines). A popular wine in Australia is a made from a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. The name is often shortened to Cabernet Merlot or just Cab Merlot. The wine variety making up the majority of the blend is named first. Usually these wines are made by blending two or more batches of wine, each made from a single variety. The winemaker strives to balance the weakness of one variety with the strength of the other to achieve a more rounded result.
Shiraz Viognier is named as if it is a blend, but in fact it is produced by a slightly different method.
Co-fermentation
By contrast, Shiraz Viognier is produced by the method of co-fermentation. Here the red Shiraz grapes are mixed with the white Viognier grapes before the wine is made. The addition of white grapes at this stage is thought to preserve the brightness of the red pigments during fermentation, as well as altering the development of some of the flavour compounds.
The fermentation process of making wine involves a large number of concurrent chemical reactions which change the nature of the phenolics in the wine. Phenolics are a group of chemical compounds found mainly in the skin of the grapes and they are the main contributors to the colour, taste, firmness and odour of the wine.
A typical Shiraz Viognier wine will contain between two and seven percent of the white variety. This seems a low amount but it is enough to change the chemical pathways of the development of the flavouring and colouring compounds during fermentation.
Shiraz Viognier is not the only wine made by co-fermenting red and white grapes. In the Piedmont region of Italy the noble red variety Nebbiolo is often made with small amounts of the white variety Arneis. One of the classic French red wines, Châteauneuf du Pape is made from a blend of up to thirteen varieties, six of which are white.
Some Popular Shiraz Viogniers
Clonakilla winery in the Canberra wine district has made some very impressive Shiraz Viognier wines since the early 1990s. It is the winery most often mentioned among wine aficionados when the conversation turns to Shiraz Viognier. The wines sell out every year despite the hefty price tag, approaching $100.00 per bottle.
Some challengers in recent years have been Spinfiex (Eden Valley), Turners Crossing and Pondalowie (both in the Bendigo wine region).
Shiraz Viognier wines have caught on with Australian wine lovers, but there are quite a few critics and sceptics who prefer 100% varietal shiraz.
Clonakilla Shiraz Viognier
|
What do you think about this article?
More in Food & Drink
Latest Articles