One of yesterday’s top selling wines was from New Zealand. Of all things, a New Zealand Syrah. This is strange because New Zealand Syrah is one of those wines that’s way off the grid. Regular people do not associate New Zealand with Syrah. Most wine geeks don’t even make this association. Sauvignon Blanc….of course. Pinot Noir…increasingly so. Maybe Chardonnay, Pinot Gris, or Riesling for the really hard core. But Syrah? Not so much.
Except for yesterday. For no apparent reason, customers just kept picking up the Otto’s Constant Dream Syrah (affectionately referred to in-shop as Otto’s Shrunken Head, also for no apparent reason. Alright, may the head on the label has something to do with the nickname.)
It’s a great wine. A very vibrant, fresh style of Syrah. Most of the best New Zealand wines have really racy acidity, and a bright, pure, freshness of fruit. In this particular Syrah, that raciness pairs nicely with bright red fruits and a kick of fresh black pepper. Delicious really. But it’s not like people come in asking for it by grape/region. Not like they do New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc. Or California Chardonnay. Or Argentine Malbec.
I guess they just liked the label on the bottle. Luckily, it’s filled with tasty wine.