After my first trip down under, I returned home wondering why the really good high quality wines I had consumed while I was in Australia were not available on our retail shelves or offered on restaurant wine lists here in the United States. Sure, we have vast amounts of shelf space devoted to Australian brands at various price points, but unless you know a good local store who specializes in regional Australian wines or you have a Total Wine (or some other beverage) megastore, there are not many choices above $20.
That might be because the demand is not what it should be. Why Americans will buy high-end French, Spanish, Italian and Portuguese wines, but not Australian baffles me. They have as much history, depth of quality and desirable styles as any of the old-world regions, so what’s the rub? Hopefully the following reviews of a few Wakefield wines from the eponymous Taylor family will inspire you to give these wines a chance and to put them on your list for your next celebration.
On a side note, we have a few reviews of Shiraz, which, by the way, is not the Australian word for Syrah. Shiraz wine and the city of Shiraz are not connected with “Shiraz”, a homonym used in Australia and some other countries for the grape variety Syrah. Shiraz is an ancient Persian city located in today’s Iran. The origin of Shirazi wine is related to the history of Georgia. In the 17th century, the king of Iran Abbas II of Persia resettled people from eastern Georgia to Iran, and they brought Shiraz, a Georgian grape variety (also known as) Saperavi, which is very similar to Syrah.
Yes, Shiraz is Syrah but it is not the Australian word for Syrah. The actual wine that made Shiraz popular with the French, English, and Italian explorers were made from white grapes in the Rippasso method creating an almost Sherry like elixir with classic nutty flavors.
Anyway, on to the reviews! You’ll be impressed with every one of them.
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