Italian Shiraz still has a sense of place

There is a romanticism to drinking wines that are produced from grapes grown in their native country and particularly the region to which they are native.

If you have travelled to a region such as Tuscany or Burgundy, opening a bottle at home can transport you back to that place if only in your mind, where the images, smells and tastes come rushing back.

There is an evolutionary element to it as well though. A grapevine is a living breathing thing that is constantly adapting and reacting to its environment, from the soil it is planted in to the weather conditions and the influence of vignerons.

When a grape has been cultivated in a place for as long as they have in many regions of the Old World (e.g Italy, France, Spain) they adapt more and more to their local conditions.

Each mutation is slightly different based on the reaction to conditions and with adept vignerons the best suited mutations will be kept and planted more widely to constantly improve to vines ability to react to its surrounds and grow a healthy viable crop. This is of course only half of the story; the romantic side. The other is economics and commerce. A vigneron has to make money to be able to take the time required to refine their chosen varieties planted.

In a country like Italy, awash with grapes in absolute volume and the number of native varieties (over 1,100), it can be difficult to establish yourself growing, say, grignolino or gaglioppo. But if you have some Shiraz or Merlot, suddenly you have an ‘easy’ sell on the international market to keep the cash rolling in with something that most wine drinkers will be familiar with.

My view is certainly in the minority. If I am going to buy or recommend a wine from Chianti I want it to be made with Sangiovese and maybe a splash of native colorino. If I am going to buy or recommend a wine from Sicily, I want it to be made from Nero d’Avola, Frappato or Nerello Mascalese. These are grapes native to their local areas, that were born out of that place and best suited to the conditions and best able to express that place.

Adding a dash of Merlot, or Cabernet or Shiraz often sticks out like a sore thumb fluffing it up to become a little more familiar to many while losing its identity and that of its place. There are of course always exceptions.

I almost always say no to wines that are grown in Italy if the grape is Shiraz, so often do they disappoint and confirm my belief.

I was ready to criticise the Pellegrino Syrah ($23) when I tasted it, but it became difficult to knock it for just being another Shiraz that could have been from anywhere. The dominant character was familiar, but not reminiscent of Shiraz. It smelt more of soil, wet/damp soil, and had the tense unresolved feel to it that the wines South East Sicily show, that the wines of Macedon can often show and even down on the South West Coast of Victoria. The common thread here is Basalt; the wine spoke more of where it was grown than of the variety planted.