Sparkling Shiraz, in some circles it’s considered something of an oddity, here in the Barossa it has formed part of an iconic tradition, with the cult following to match. Celebrations, especially those involving a sumptuous, cooked breakfast just aren’t the same without a bottle of bubbly Shiraz. Try some on Christmas morning with bacon & eggs and you’ll never look back – guaranteed!

The Barossa is without a doubt Shiraz country, so it only makes sense that an enterprising winemaker would, sooner rather than later, pay homage to the Seppelts and begin making their own version of ‘Sparkling Burgundy’. By no means did the Barossa create Sparkling Shiraz, but there is no doubt that we have adopted it, taken it into our hearts as our own. It has all the festivity of sparkling white, with a deep edge that’s gutsy enough to pair well with all those smallgoods the Barossa is so famous for. What’s not to love?

So, to make Sparkling Shiraz you take Shiraz and just add bubbles, right? Well, essentially, yes, but the creation of this favourite fizz is actually quite the labour of love, requiring twice as much attention as its still counterpart. Here, at Turkey Flat we look to the French for inspiration, opting for the traditional method, whereby bubbles are created by a secondary ferment rather than merely carbonating the wine. We reap the rewards of this delicate, time-consuming process by way of dramatically increased quality in complexity, mouthfeel and bead.

Each spring our winemaker, Mark Bulman, goes through the Shiraz stocks and carefully selects 2 barrels to add to the base wine Solera system (which dates back to 2005). As the addition of bubbles accentuates tannic qualities, the selected wines are always low in tannin and high in primary fruit characters.

Mark blends a base wine from this Solera system yearly and then sends it off to specialist sparkling wine producer, Kilchurn for the all-important secondary ferment. I can almost hear some ‘tut-tutting’ about sending wine off site for production, yes, everyone loves artisan wines made 100% on site (like the rest of the Turkey Flat range) however, there are a plethora of very good reasons for not doing this part ourselves. To put it quite simply, sparkling wine requires a lot of specialist equipment and is essentially a finicky little princess, get one tiny element slightly wrong, and BANG (literally) there goes your wine. Kilchurn are masters at this production and importantly, Mark trusts them implicitly to handle our wines with the utmost care and attention.

So, at Kilchurn the wine is bottled and small amounts of yeast & sugar are added to create the secondary ferment (known as ‘tirage’) and then capped with a crown seal. The bottles are left to allow the yeast to create the bubbles and remain ‘on lees’ (in contact with the dead yeast) for 12-24 months. It may sound a little, umm - off, to leave something ‘dead’ in contact with your wine, but remaining on lees imparts true elegance to the wine, with a finer and more persistent bead akin to that found in true Champagne.

In October the year’s release is ‘disgorged’ whereby the caps are knocked off and the lees are extracted. To take up space in the bottle left from the yeast, each bottle is dosed with a little of our own Pedro Ximenez. The addition of Pedro also adds that delicate caress of sweetness, making it just that little more delectable and moreish.

Finally the bottles are recapped and sent home to us for labeling and release. Phew. That’s a lot of love in each bottle.

Personally, I like to think that Sparkling Shiraz is a good analogy for Barossa locals; earthy, generous and a little complex, yet bubbling with a dry sense of humor. Once you’ve experienced it, the engaging personality lingers, like the memory of a favourite childhood holiday destination, drawing you back again and again. I challenge anyone to disagree, and I wonder perhaps if it’s these similarities are why we find it so delightful?

Special occasion, festive season, Tuesday, whatever the reason, pop a bottle of Sparkling Shiraz, embrace its Barossa roots & join this dark and delicious cult.

Cheers!

Emily Hay