By Andy Young
Following on from the success of his Sauvignon Blanc, talk show host Graham Norton has again teamed up with Invivo Wines to launch a South Australian Shiraz.
Graham Norton’s Own Sauvignon Blanc has been a great success for the New Zealand winemaker, and production has increased by 50 per cent since 2015 to meet expected demand. Last year, the wine sold out in over 1910 stores in Australia, Ireland, the UK, and New Zealand.
Invivo co-founder Tim Lightbourne and winemaker Rob Cameron travelled to Ireland to work with Norton on a new 2016 Sauvignon Blanc, and following consumer demand for a red wine, the trio also collaborated on the South Australian Shiraz.
Speaking about his new 2016 Sauvignon Blanc, Norton said: “It is easy drinking. It's got all the grassiness and zest you expect from a new world Sauvignon Blanc but I like to think it has a bit of an old world finish.
Norton added: “I’m thrilled,” after blending the new Shiraz.
Lightnourne said of the new wine: “We considered doing a Pinot Noir but a lot of our customers were after a heavier type of red and we also needed the volume to support that so we looked to South Australia.
“We asked Graham if he would be keen to make a South Australian Shiraz, which he was really excited by, so we took six or seven samples from across South Australia and he chose his favourite blend.
“It wasn’t a hard sell for Graham, he knows the area and he was definitely keen.”
The Graham Norton wine has proved a huge success for Invivo and the new wines will be available in Australia from BWS in October.
‘We asked Graham if he would be keen to make a South Australian Shiraz’
Yet he didn’t make it. He didn’t even come to the country. He tried a couple of samples in Ireland. Not quite the same as ‘making it’, is it!