Shiraz is the dominant red wine grape variety in Australia. It is the key component of Grange, the flagship Australian wine label. At the other end of the scale it makes up the bulk of the cheap and cheerful red wines in the cheaper bottled brands such as Jacobs Creek, Oxford Landing and Yellowtail.
A recent innovation in Australia is the emergence of Shiraz Viognier a new style where a small amount of the white wine variety viogner is co-fermented with the shiraz.
But Shiraz has not always held such a hold over the market. Until the mid nineties cabernet sauvignon was regarded as the superior variety and this was reflected in the prices paid at the cellar door. In more recent years the demand for exports has been mainly for Australian shiraz and cabernet has lost ground in the battle for consumer preference in Australia as well.
Shiraz's reign at the top of the tree really started in the middle of the 1950s when it replaced grenache as the most popular red wine grape variety. In those days a much larger proportion of the wine market was devoted to fortified wine, what we used to call Port.
So What is the Future?
Looking into the future the role of Shiraz seems unassailable, but there are a few challengers on the horizon. The wine consumer is a fickle creature and fashions can change fairly quickly.
- Cabernet Sauvignon is well entrenched and is position especially in areas with a favourable climate like the Margaret River region in Western Australia.
- Merlot is the third most popular red wine grape variety in Australia. Much of the production goes into blends with cabernet sauvignon, reflecting its major role in Bordeaux. There are quite a few varietal merlots also produced. There are two reasons for thinking that Merlot won't displace shiraz as our major tipple. Firstly there are viticultural problems relating to poor clones and it performs poorly in cooler regions. Secondly at the consumer end the wine often lacks a distinctive varietal character. There seems to be no consensus among winemakers about what a good merlot should be like.
- Another contender is Grenache. This variety is widely planted in South Australia, particularly in the Barossa and McLaren Vale regions. In the 1980s it was subject to government sponsored vine pull schemes in the belief that its days were over. Grenache's star is on the rise again both as a varietal and as the key to the easy drinking GSM blends with Shiraz and Morvedre. However, Grenache will not seriously challenge Shiraz because of its need for a relatively warm climate.
Emerging Varieties
There are a few other varieties attracting attention which will figure in the mix over the next decade or so. Some have only been used in Australia for the past two decades.
- Sangiovese is a variety with a large and growing fan club, especially among winemakers and consumers in Australia with an Italian background. There are now over two hundred Australian winemakers using this variety.
- The most popular red wine variety in Spain is Tempranillo. It is rapidly gaining popularity in many Australian wine regions. Tempranillo matures a little earlier than Shiraz or Sangiovese so it can be grown in slightly cooler regions. Vineyards in inland Australia where the climate is more continental have had the greatest success with Tempranillo.
- The Durif variety, known as Petite Sirah in California, is regarded as a warm climate variety. It is the signature variety of the Rutherglen region, but it is popular in most warmer wine areas. The outstanding feature of Durif is the high level of tannins, but if these can be mastered then very attractive wines result.
- Petit Verdot is becoming much more popular in the warmer areas.
- Barbera and Nebbiolo are the two other Italian varieties which are highly regarded in Australia. Lagrein is a little known Italian variety, from the North East of Italy. It is an early ripening variety and as such can be grown in the cooler climates.
- In more recent years winemakers have been looking for red varieties suited to warmer climates and have switched their attention to varieites from Southern Italy such as Aglianico and Greco de Tufo.
Summary
The wine scene is constantly changing. Shiraz will contnue to dominate, but there will be plenty of new kids on the block trying to make their mark. Many of these emerging varieties are described on the Vinodiversity website, along with lists of Australian wineries using them.
Darby Higgs - Darby Higgs is a wine writer and webmaster based in Melbourne Australia. He is the Author of Emerging Varietal Wines of Australia: a guide ...
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