k syrah and TOSSI

Posted by on 1 January 2009 | 0 Comments

A new brand of syrah has been released from the Matakana wine region - Ransom 2007 K-Syrah.  Ransom Wines have entered into a long term sponsorship of the Tawharanui Open Sanctuary Society Inc., (TOSSI), and for each bottle of the 2007 K-Syrah sold they will contribute one dollar toward the impending release of Kakarike, a beautiful green and yellow native parakeet at the nearby Tawharanui Open Sanctuary. 

The K-Syrah labelling tells the story.  Each front label features an exquisite painting of a New Zealand native bird - kiwi, kereru, kaka, or korimako, the tamper strip lists 25 New Zealand native birds whose names begin with the 'K', while the back label points out that 'we can't afford to take a que-sera attitude to these birds - many of them are now rare or threatened with extinction'.

While the label is striking what is in the bottle is even more so: the ruby red, rich and savoury wine has the classic varietal characters associated with the best syrah wines.  Robin Ransom believes syrah has a great future in the north of New Zealand and in the Matakana region in particular.  This view is shared by Auckland based Master Sommelier Cameron Douglas, who describes K Syrah 2007 as 'the most exciting wine I have tasted from Matakana' in a review of the Matakana regions which he wrote in a recent issue of the prestigious American sommeliers magazine Somm Selection.