Now I fully appreciate that talking to a Kiwi about Australia’s cool-climate wines is akin to a Bedouin instructing an Inuit about snow,but we do have plenty of cooler regions where a more refined,aromatic and less-weighty shiraz is produced.

Your country is making some stunning shiraz (often labelled syrah) from Hawke’s Bay and Martinborough,but they’re still painfully small in volume and not cheap to buy.

You’re not alone in preferring the lighter styles of shiraz and shiraz viognier over what’s called the “stereotypical big wines of South Australia”. I’ve observed that,as people age,they tend to favour lighter wines – not just less alcoholic reds but more elegant and subtle types,in general. A sort of a maturing from head-banging heavy metal to quieter classical pieces.

“You’re not alone in preferring the lighter styles of shiraz over the ‘stereotypical big wines of South Australia’.”