As you might know, sparkling Shiraz is one of the newer exciting releases out of the land of down under. Of course, they are known for their Shiraz wines, but they've added an interesting twist over the past several years by making some of them sparkling.

While there are differences in the grades of sparkling Shiraz wines, this mostly reflected by the price. So far, I've had several that were in the $25 and under range, and even in that, some of them were on sale. There is one out there that runs a good $50, but as I am not necessarily a big fan of Shiraz in general, it will be a rep that will have to allow me to taste it, because I am not making that investment right now.

Needless to say, it was good to find a sparkling Shiraz to try that was around $10, so I had to pick it up. Of course, the label was nothing special, being of simple design and reminding me of low priced Cook's or Great Western, but you can't judge a book by it's cover, now can you?

Upon drinking this wine, I was rewarded with a wonderful bouquet of berry flavors that mark a nice shiraz, but not as much that inner essence that makes you long for some type of red meats along with it. It is very calm in regards to the usually harsh tannin content of red wines. This wine would be perfect with any meats off the grille, and for it's price, it's makes the perfect companion for cookouts. I highly recommend getting a case of this before they run out.