Visiting South Australia; Home to one of Australia's Oldest Wineries

Penfolds wine has long been a favorite in this household so when our theme for this month's World Wine Travel was the Red Wines of South Australia, I naturally went right to this popular brand.

Gwendolyn of Wine Predator is hosting this event and our twitter chat to be held on Saturday (2/26) morning at 11 AM ET.  You can learn more by reading Gwendolyn's invitation post.

We love having others join in our chats.  If you are a wine lover who wants to learn more about the wines of South Australia or have information about South Australian wines that you would like to share we would love for you to join us. You will find us by following #WorldWineTravel.   Here are some of the topics we will be discussing........

• Allison on AdVINEtures pours “The Great Australian Red Wine: Cabernet-Shiraz” 
• Camilla goes “Beyond Shiraz in South Australia with Dagwood Dogs, Rissoles, and a Limestone Coast Cabernet Sauvignon” on Culinary Adventures with Camilla 
• Cindy has “Powerful, Prestigious Barossa Valley Shiraz” on Grape Experiences
• Jeff brings “Riverland Surprises in South Australia” on Food Wine Click! 
• Linda offers “Barossa Shiraz from ‘All the Land Around’ on My Full Wine Glass 
• Nicole will be “Splurging with Penfold’s Bin 389 and Oxtail Stew” on Somm’s Table 
• Robin suggests “South Australia – Cabernet from Coonawarra & Fortified Shiraz from McClaren Vale” on Crushed Grape Chronicles 
• Susannah shares “Barossa Valley Memories” on Avvinare 
• Terri has “Penfold’s Koonunga Hill Shiraz Cabernet and Busy Day Soup” on Our Good Life 
• Wendy is “Visiting South Australia; Home to one of Australia’s Oldest Wineries” on A Day in the Life on the Farm 
• Gwendolyn of Wine Predator, has “Celebrate Family Fun with Eight at the Gate: 2 Shiraz with Pie Floaters #WorldWineTravel ”

It is not surprising that Penfolds is such a popular wine.  This winery, started in 1844 by Christopher and Mary Penfold from vines brought with them on their voyage to Australia.

Christopher was a very busy doctor so most of the wine making and the running of the vineyards was left to Mary.  When Christopher died in 1870, Mary assumed total control of the winery that was producing very popular Clarets and Rieslings.

Mary retired in 1920 and her daughter, Georgina, took over the business which, at this time, was producing a third of the wine in the area and was South Australia's largest winery.

In 1948 winemaker, Max Schubert was hired by Penfolds and began experimenting with long-lasting wines. Bin 28, the Shiraz that I am sharing with you today was first introduced in 1959.  Made with grapes from the Barossa Valley Vineyard the bottling was named for the area that stored the bins where the wine was aged.

Penfolds has been featured on the list of 100 Top Wineries, found in Wine and Spirits Magazine, 29 times.  That is pretty dang impressive.

I learned all of this and more by reading the information provided on Penfolds' website.

It was a happy coincidence that my Eat the World group was assigned Australia during the month of February.  While researching for recipes I kept in mind that I wanted to pair my meal with this bottle of wine and settled on making an Australian Meat Pie.  This meat pie was like a giant sloppy joe, which along with grilled burgers, pair nicely with this wine.

Shiraz pairs very well with red meats and game meats whether they be grilled or cooked up in a hearty rich stew.  It can also pair nicely with chicken depending on how it is prepared and we really love it with our Favorite BBQ Ribs.

As I said this is a popular bottle in our house, both for it's medium bodied, slightly spiced deliciousness as well as it's medium price point of under $30.  Not what we spend for an everday wine but reasonable enough that I don't feel like I need a special occasion to open it.  I pick it up from Costco whenever they have it available and save myself a few dollars.

Hope to see you at chat on Saturday, have a great weekend.