Understanding the role of regionality in Shiraz: Sensory and chemical profiles of Shiraz wines from six different regions

Terroir can be broadly considered to be the contributions and interactions of environmental, human and cultural factors that impart unique characteristics to a product. In this study regional differences in sensory characteristics of Shiraz wines were explored in an Australian context, evaluating the sensory profiles of premium wines from six well-regarded Shiraz-producing regions. Initially, large sets of regionally produced wines were evaluated by groups of winemakers from each specific region, using a newly described, rapid sensory method called Pivot© Profile, in order to obtain an overall regional sensory snapshot of the wines produced in that region. A subset of wines from each region was then carefully selected using the Pivot© Profile data and further evaluated using traditional sensory descriptive analysis along with comprehensive chemical analysis. This work has given detailed quantitative information of the sensory properties that can be expected from each of the regions, along with their associated chemical pattern, and provided links between regional sensory attributes and chemical profiles. The sensory fingerprints that differentiate the regions can help winemakers, wine trade and consumers to appreciate what sensory attributes can be expected when producing/selling/purchasing a wine from one of the regions studied here, and points of difference compared to other wines.