Syrah production. This made Shiraz the most planted variety in Australia and Australia the world's second largest Syrah/Shiraz grower, after France. Victorian regions include Heathcote, roughly 1.5 hours north of Melbourne. Cooler climate regions such as Western Australia's Margaret River produce Shiraz with marginally less alcohol content and often in a more traditional French style. A well-known example of the Shiraz grape in Australian viticulture is the Penfolds "Grange". This wine was created by winemaker Max Schubert in 1951 and has a reputation for aging well. The Penfolds Grange is predominantly Shiraz but often includes a small quantity of Cabernet Sauvignon.
Limoux wine first AOC to regulate mandatory barrel fermentation for its white wine. The appellation was approved for the production of red varietal wines starting with the 2003 vintage. These wines must contain a minimum of 50% Merlot with Grenache, Malbec and Syrah. Carignan is permitted at a maximum of 10% of the blend until 2010 when the variety is expected to be phased out completely of Limoux production. All together there must be at least 3 grape varieties in the blend with no two single varieties exceeding 90% of the total blend. In recent years, the Limoux AOC has seen significant