There are any number of colorful and romantic stories of how the Syrah grape came to France. The most well-known is that Syrah (which is also known as Shiraz) originated near the ancient town of Shiraz, located in what is now Iran. In the past, when wine was still made there, they were called Shirazi wines – but these were white wines and there is no evidence of what grapes may have been used for them.

Other tales have the Syrah grape coming to France from Syracuse in Sicily, and from Egypt, or having been brought back from the Middle East during the Crusades. One Crusader, Gaspard de Stérimberg, is said to be the one who brought the grape vines to the Rhône Valley where he built the chapel (hermitage) on the hill above the town of Tain-l’Hermitage.

The problem behind these wonderful stories is that while the tales are referenced in historical documents and have certain orthographic similarities between names and places, there is no direct ampelographic evidence that they are true.

Recent DNA tests on Syrah grapes show conclusively that they are the offspring of two grapes originating in southeastern France – Dureza (red), from the Ardèche, and Mondeuse blanche (white), from Savoie. Today these parent grapes are barely planted and are extremely obscure, while Syrah is now estimated to be the seventh most widely planted grape variety in the world.

So if not from ancient Persia, where did the alternate name Shiraz come from? It seems to have been based on an older, anglicized name for Syrah that was used in Britain and in Australia in the early 19^th century – Seyras (sometimes spelled Ciras). That was the spelling when James Busby, the father of the Australian wine industry, brought the vines to Australia in 1831. At some point in time afterward Seyras became Shiraz.

The oldest surviving Shiraz vines are 160 years old and can be found in Barossa Valley, Australia

Syrah first gained prominence in the northern Rhône Valley, where it is the only grape used in making Hermitage, Cornas and Côte Rôtie among other great wines. In the southern Rhône the dominant grape becomes Grenache, though it is often blended with Syrah in such famed wines as Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Gigondas and Côtes du Rhône. In moderate climates such as this, Syrah is a medium- to full-bodied wine with a fairly high level of tannins. In warmer climates such as Australia’s Barossa, the wine is more full-bodied, more jammy and spicy, with softer tannins.

The grape temporarily lost its popularity in the early 20^th century, and it was at this time that Syrah was chiefly used – in the days before appellation rules became strict – as a grape blended into the red wines of Bordeaux to strengthen weak vintages. Today, however, Syrah/Shiraz is back on top. You will find many excellent examples coming not only from the Rhône and Australia, but also from South Africa, Chile, New Zealand’s Hawke’s Bay, California and Walla Walla in Washington State. The two names outside of France (Syrah) and Australia (Shiraz) are usually interchangeable, based on the discretion of the winemaker (or wine-marketer).

PS. While Syrah and Shiraz are different names for the same grape, it should be mentioned that Petite Sirah – also known as Durif – is not the same, being a cross between Syrah and the much more obscure grape variety Peloursin which was discovered by botanist François Durif in 1880. But that’s another story!

Bill Stobbs, ABC Fine Wine & Spirits wine supervisor

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