Sustainable Natives

The difference between Syrah and Shiraz is largely in the nomenclature. As Shakespeare might say, if he were alive today , What’s in a name? That which we call Shiraz is merely the Australian name of France’s Syrah.

The Syrah wine grape, called Shiraz in Australia, is native to the Rhone Valley, in southeastern France, in which it still thrives today . Syrah and Shiraz wines are made from the exact same grape variety but, as is true of wine in general, the flavor is significantly dependent on the variety of terroir and winemaking types it’s created under. Even in the Rhone Valley itself, there is an huge difference between the way Syrah is employed in the northern and southern wine-producing regions.

Northern Rhone reds are typically made from 100% Syrah grapes and often identified as being powerful, manly, meaty, leathery, strapping, vigorous, serious, peppery, bold, and so on. These wines are dark, intense, and masculine wines that generally demand many years of aging to subdue their strong tannins. This is especially true of the Syrahs produced in  the Hermitage appellation, some of which are classed amongst the world’s most prestigious wines.

Southern Rhone reds are typically blends of Syrah, Grenache and Mourvedre. The most famous Southern Rhone appellation, Châteauneuf-du-Pape, permits the use of 13 various grape varieties, but the most important are the 3 aforementioned varieties, especially Grenache. These are also full colored and full-bodied reds, but they are more approachable than their northern neighbors, and personally, I tend to favor the Southern Rhones because I find them to be much more food-friendly.

Shiraz, as its called in Australia, is the country’s most important red wine grape. It’s additionally the most widely planted, with upwards of 100,000 acres of vineyard dedicated to it, which means that Australia is the world’s second largest producer of Syrah/Shiraz, following France. Australian Shiraz runs the gamut in terms of both price tag and quality. It not hard to find some very drinkable Shiraz and Shiraz-Cabernet Sauvignon blends for less than $10.00. At the opposite end of the spectrum is Penfolds Grange. This is Australia’s one truly iconic wine, and it can be as high-priced as a fine Bordeaux or Burgundy. Doing a simple Google search, I located the Penfolds Grange 2005, the most recent release at time of writing, at rates ranging from $360.00 to $550.00 per bottle, and some of the most sought after vintages can can cost thousands of American dollars to purchase . This is also a big, powerful and masculine wine (almost always 100% Shiraz, but blended with a small amount of Cabernet Sauvignon in some vintages) but quickly distinguishable from Northern Rhone Syrah due to the differing terroir and, in no small part, from the fact that Penfolds Grange is aged in new American oak barrels.

California, with approximately 20,000 acres of Syrah vineyards, is the other bigimportant producer of Syrah varietals and blends. Naturally, many fantastic Syrahs are vinified and bottledproduced in Napa Valley and Sonoma, but recently it is an important grape in the Central Coast region–particularly in Paso Robles and Santa Barbara County. Speaking of that rising importance, Wine Spectator designated a Paso Robles wine, Saxum Winery’s James Berry Vineyard Paso Robles 2007, its wine of the year for 2010. Being a blend of Grenache, Mourvèdre and Syrah, it’s produced very much in the Southern Rhone style. Two Santa Barbara County Syrahs also placed in the top 100 list: Tensley’s Syrah Santa Barbara County Colson Canyon Vineyard 08 and Zaca Mesa’s Syrah Santa Ynez Valley 2006, at no. 17 and 29 respectively.

The Syrahs made in Washington State have also in recent years been getting accolades, both from wine critics and wine drinkers . The remaining significant Syrah producing countries are South Africa (where it’s typically referred to as Shiraz, but labeled Syrah for wines produced in the Rhone style), Argentina and Chile. Simply to make matters more confusing, there is a different varietal, mainly grown in California, named Petite Sirah or Petite Syrah which is actually not Syrah, but instead a cross between Syrah and an obscure Rhone grape termed Peloursin. The hybrid was found in 1880 by a French botanist, Francois Durif, who named the new varietal after himself. It’s now known as Durif in Australia, and Petite Sirah in California and Israel.

If you’d like to learn more concerning different wine varietals, especially the ones developed in California, or are interested in wine tours in Santa Barbara County, then drop by Eric Hilton’s website, at http://santabarbarawinetours.org.