Published in The Ararat Advocate, Ararat's local weekly newspaper published by West Vic News Pty Ltd.
THREE local wineries are joining forces to showcase the unique peppery flavour of the region’s Shiraz.
Warrak’s Mountainside Wines, Crowlands’ Dogrock Winery and Mount Langi Ghiran have launched the Rotundone Road Shiraz Adventure to shine a light on the peppery flavour found in local red wine.
The three businesses will promote rotundone, a chemical compound found in the skin of red grapes and therefore Shiraz grown in cool climate wine regions such as the Grampians and Pyrenees.
Owner of Mountainside Wines, Jane Goninon said the chemical was only discovered ten years ago but has become an integral part of the Shiraz industry in the Ararat region.
“Wine Australia did some research that identified that Mount Langi Ghiran has the highest concentration of rotundone in its vineyard, in Australia,” she said.
“There's still a lot of research going on about how to maximize the rotundone in grapes and therefore in our wine. That work is ongoing so it's still early days.”
Mount Langi Ghiran General Manager Damien Sheehan witnessed the Australian Wine Research Institute first isolate the pepper compound over a decade ago.
“Mount Langi Ghiran has always been one of the foremost wineries in Australia when it comes to quality cool climate peppery Shiraz,” he said.
Both Mount Langi Ghiran and Dogrock Winery have been acknowledged for their wine by critiques James Halliday and The Real Review.
Mount Langi Ghiran was judged in the top 2% of wineries in Australia by The Real Review team while Dogrock placed in the top 10%, making the list for the third year running.
The three wineries will now spend the next 12 months making rotundone known in the marketplace, in the hope of bringing further attention to the sometimes forgotten wineries between Beaufort and Ararat.
“The Grampians wine region is more than Great Western and Halls Gap,” Mrs Goninon said.
“There are some really outstanding wines across the whole of the region and it's about making sure that people know that we're here to.”
Mrs Goninon said the Rotundone Road Shiraz Adventure could grow in the future to include more wineries, local artists, food makers and accommodation providers.