According to legend, Shiraz cuttings were brought back to France from the city of Shiraz, Tehran, by a French knight during the Crusades of the 13th century. However, DNA testing has shown that the grape is native to the Rhone Valley, France.

The earliest reported plantings of Shiraz in France date back to 500BC. Shiraz now accounts for most of the wine coming from the Rhone valley, with two of the most famous appellations being Hermitage and Cote-Roti, situated in the northern Rhone valley.

Shiraz cuttings were probably brought to Australia by James Busby in 1832. Shiraz was not always as popular as it is today. Up until the mid 1900’s it was used for fortified wine production.

Shiraz in Australia was nearly lost completely when the SA government implemented a vine pull scheme to replace the Shiraz with more popular varieties such as Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon. Thankfully, there were growers who resisted, giving us the iconic Shiraz that we have today.

The vine enjoys very good disease resistance and is a strong, energetic growing variety. It produces long, loose
bunches that are quite large, having up to about 130 berries per bunch.

The Shiraz vine is very versatile as it is capable of performing well in both cool and warm/hot climates. Cooler regions include Coonawarra, Eden Valley and Central & Southern Victoria, giving us varietal characters of ripe blackberry, plums, licorice and black pepper. Warmer climates where Shiraz is iconic is the Barossa valley, McLaren Vale and the Hunter valley, giving us varietal characters of spice, stewed plum, blueberry, chocolate and licorice.

Penfolds Grange is seen as the epitome of Australian Shiraz and has been a key player in promoting Australian
Shiraz as a great wine.

Our ‘Le Repaire de Bacchus’ 2005 Shiraz is currently available at our cellar door. It is a full bodied wine exhibiting cherry, plum and concentrated blackberry aromas. Its soft velvet tannins from American oak barrels blend harmoniously with black cherry, mulberry and aniseed fruit characters. We are very proud of this vintage as it has received a Silver medal at the 2006 Ballarat Wine Show and also a Bronze medal at the 2006 Murrumbateman Cool Climate Wine Show in the Shiraz classes.

As a full bodied wine, Shiraz is best enjoyed with classic red meat dishes, chargrilled steaks, casseroles, spicy meats, rich tomato based pasta dishes with ox-tail or osso buco sauces, thick beef stews, curries and chilli con carne.

Or try it with one of “Jenny’s Special” wood fired Pizza.