Hi folks,
A friend brought over a bottle of YellowTail Shiraz the other night -
which has had a phenomenal success in the Canadian market, I think it
is now one of the most popular imports - and I undertand why for a
straightforward fruit-driven wine.

But my question is this - the bottle we drank 2 night ago was dated
2004. Now given that it comes from OZ - it must have been harvested
last spring - say May/June. That would give it only 6 months between
harvest and having the bottle on the shelves in Canada.

So the question to the group is - do you have any ideas about how a
commercial winery would approach making this kind of wine to get it out
the door so quickly.
My guess is - quick ferment - off the skins at or well before dryness.
Probably no ML, certainly only a very short barrel contact or may just
some chips. With brief cold stabilization and sterile filtration.

Even so I'm surprised at a winery releasing a red wine before it has at
least 1 year in bulk.

steve in vancouver

I reluctantly bought a bottle of this last weekend in North Carolina as the
2002 vintage was acceptable for a large format bottle, when considering the
low price.

I was so disappointed in the 2004 I wouldn't let anyone else try it and took
it back the next day.

Whatever they did to release it this quickly, I'd never want to duplicate
it. It tasted like it had been vacuum condensed or played around with by
another means.

--
Patrick McDonald
Athens, GA USA

"sapdog" > wrote in message
oups.com...
> Hi folks,
> A friend brought over a bottle of YellowTail Shiraz the other night -
> which has had a phenomenal success in the Canadian market, I think it
> is now one of the most popular imports - and I undertand why for a
> straightforward fruit-driven wine.
>
> But my question is this - the bottle we drank 2 night ago was dated
> 2004. Now given that it comes from OZ - it must have been harvested
> last spring - say May/June. That would give it only 6 months between
> harvest and having the bottle on the shelves in Canada.
>
> So the question to the group is - do you have any ideas about how a
> commercial winery would approach making this kind of wine to get it out
> the door so quickly.
> My guess is - quick ferment - off the skins at or well before dryness.
> Probably no ML, certainly only a very short barrel contact or may just
> some chips. With brief cold stabilization and sterile filtration.
>
> Even so I'm surprised at a winery releasing a red wine before it has at
> least 1 year in bulk.
>
> steve in vancouver
>

In the southern hemisphere, "Spring" occurs in different months than it
does in the northern hemisphere. And they wouldn't harvest grapes
until the end of the growing season, probably February or March (late
summer/fall). Then the grapes are crushed, fermented, and pressed,
slightly aged, and now are on your store shelves for purchase. The
southern hemisphere growers have a 6 month jump on the vintage year.

Also try the Black Swan shiraz. Its extremely affordable and has an
over-the-top acidity that comes from being grown in the desert.