Australia’s favourite gets its own day

Australian Shiraz wines are getting the focus they need with the launch of Australia’s newfound Shiraz Day on July 23rd.

It may come as a surprise that the most popular red grape varietal in Australia, Shiraz, has no day on the calendar to celebrate its achievements.

Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir and rosé, among other lesser known varietals, are celebrated each year, so why not Shiraz?

International Syrah Day is marked on the global calendar for February 16th, but as Shiraz is often referred to as Syrah in the Northern hemisphere, there has only ever been a small focus on Australian wines.

Considering the planting of Shiraz in Australia is thought to pre-date the James Busby Collection in the early 1830s, and Australia’s iconic red varietal is enjoyed and celebrated all over the world, the team at Mastermind Consulting thought it was time to introduce Shiraz Day – a day to celebrate the diversity of Shiraz being produced across Australia and New Zealand.

Trish Barry, CEO at Mastermind Consulting said, “This year Shiraz day will be held on Thursday, 23 July, and thereafter we hope that the tradition will continue on the fourth Thursday of July each year”.

“For almost a decade we’ve worked with Australian and New Zealand wineries to leverage varietal wine days and we’ve seen firsthand the sales impact that can be achieved with some focused messaging and targeted activity.

“It has been phenomenal and yet our most popular red grape varietal is not in the spotlight! Given it is key red wine season, it made sense to put this icon in the broader spotlight for a day and thus Shiraz Day is born.”

Key Facts and figures:

  • There are 39,893 hectares of Shiraz planted in Australia which represents 29.5% of the total plantings and 46% of red grape plantings.
  • In 2020, Australian wineries crushed 376,000 tonnes of Shiraz (25% of total crush).

Whether you call this grape varietal Shiraz or prefer the stylistic change to Syrah, there’s much to appreciate about the diversity of this style.

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