Attributes:

Yalumba Winery

South Australia, Australia/New Zealand

Syrah / Shiraz

750 ML

Food Matches:

Originally grown in France’s Northern Rhône Valley (where it is a noble variety) this grape has spread to Australia, California, Washington, Italy and Spain. In the Rhone region this grape produces deeply colored wines with full body and firm tannin, however in Australia, where it is known as Shiraz, the wines are lighter and fruitier. Aromas and flavors for these wines vary as much as their geographical breadth suggests: berries, smoked meat, bell peppers, even tar.

Australian name for the grape known as Syrah in France.

Attributes:

Saint Cosme

Cote du Rhone, France

Rhone Blend - Red

750 ML

2006: WineAdvocate Rating: 87

complex, deep

blackberry

fruity

Food Matches:

Rhone Valley takes its name from the Rhone River which flows from the Swiss Alps, through the valley dividing the Northern and Southern Rhone, and then ending at the Mediterranean Sea just west of Marseille. Inside the Rhone River Valley to the south are the Cotes du Rhone and Cotes du Rhone Villages. 77 % of all Rhone wines are Cotes du Rhone or Cotes du Rhone Villages and wines bearing this label only come ONLY from the Southern Rhone. "Cotes du Rhone" is an appellation with which a bottle will be labeled where as "Cotes du Rhone Villages" is a title given to a village within that appellation. Of the ninety six villages entitled "Cotes du Rhone Villages" there are sixteen considered superior, and because of this they are allowed to append their name. (Example.) Cotes du Rhone Villages Superior Cairanne) The climate is hot and dry, and the soil is less dirt than it is clay, gravel, or stone. Unlike the North, this region relies on blends and is very seldom making single variety wines. Cotes du Rhone makes red, white and rose wine from the grapes of Grenache, Mourverde, Syrah, Cinsaut, Carignan, Grenache Blanc, Clairette, Bourboulenc, Rousanne and Viogner, with the top wines being red.

Attributes:

Gauthier

Bordeaux, France

Bordeaux - Red

750 ML

Food Matches:

A region in western France that grows famous red wines from the Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Cabernet Franc grapes and white wines from Sauvignon Blanc, Sémillon and Muscadelle grapes. Situated on the Atlantic coast, Bordeaux has a maritime climate with warm summers and fairly mild winters as well as an abundance of rain during harvest time. When young, the finest red Bordeaux wines have a deep cranberry hue and aromas of blackcurrants, plums, spice, cedar, and cassis. For the first ten years or so these wines can be very dry, with tannin masking the fruity flavors. Eventually the wines turn garnet, and develops an extraordinarily complex bouquet and flavor as well as softer tannins. The finest red Bordeaux wines still take 20 years or so before reaching their maturity. Two distinct red wine production zones exist within the Bordeaux region; the Left Bank and the Right Bank. The Left Bank vineyards are located west of the Garonne River and the Gironde Estuary, into which the Garonne empties. The Right Bank vineyards are east and north of the Dordogne River and east of the Grionde Estuary. Of the various wine districts on the Left and Right Banks, four are the most important for red wines: Haut-Médoc; Pessac-Leognan, St-Emilion, and Pomerol. For white wines, the most important are Graves and Pessac-Leognan.