I love Sparkling red wines.

What are you talking about, Sparkling red wines?

Well, I am talking about quality red wines made in the same way as Champagne – that is, bottle fermented, aged on lees, then liqueured and left to develop in the bottle. However, instead of using Chardonnay and Pinot as the base wines, we change it up and use quality Syrah wine.

What should you expect from these wines?

Well, imagine tilting an empty glass and pouring the bottle … down the side runs a frothy liquid, black-purple in color with violet and pink fizz. Jumping out of the glass comes the smell of blackcurrants, blackberries, chocolate, cherries, strawberries.

You finish pouring and slowly the froth settles into purple red wine with a steady mousse. Another sniff now shows oak, sweet fruit and firm acid. Try some …. powerful fruit, dry yet seeming sweet, some acid and tannin on the finish as the flavours run over your tongue, berries, mushroom, spice, cherries and more.

Makes me thirsty just writing about it!  We will have some bottles ready for New Year, but we will also hold some back for longer aging.