Press Release Beyond Shiraz Book
190 Wine Grape Varieties in Australia
Press Release
Beyond Shiraz 190 Wine Grape Varieties in Australia by Darby Higgs. E-book (Kindle) and Paperback (138p). Published November 2025 Available on Amazon.
Over the last two decades, so‑called alternative and emerging varieties have created a revolution in Australian wine. New arrivals and reimagined classic varieties are bringing fresh flavours, textures and ideas. Just as importantly, they offer practical answers as growers and winemakers respond to shifting consumer tastes and a warming, drying climate. Drinkers are chasing energy, lift and surprise; producers are seeking vines with heat and drought tolerance in an effort to create new expressions from familiar regions that resonate at home and abroad. The result is a dynamic, delicious rethink of what Australian wine can be.
Beyond Shiraz is your invitation to join that revolution. Drawing on and thoroughly expanding Darby’s earlier work, this updated guide profiles 190 wine grape varieties used in Australia today.
Beyond Shiraz aims to include every variety used commercially in Australia, with a clear focus on the emerging cohort that’s redefining the country’s wine narrative. Each entry is designed to be practical and down‑to‑earth: the origin of the grape, its global and local footprint, how it behaves in the vineyard, the styles it tends to produce, and why it matters right now.
The author Darby Higgs, has been writing about wine in his dedicated website vinodiversity.com since 2004. He has created Vindata a comprehensive database of 180 alternative varieties used in Australia by about 1500 producers. Darby has drawn on these resources and his extensive contacts in the industry to produce Beyond Shiraz, with the aim of encouraging more consumers to spread their vinous horizons.
Contact for more information and interviews
darby.higgs@gmail.com
AI generated podcast discussion of the book