Shiraz vs. Syrah- The answer may surprise you!

I always thought that Shiraz and Syrah were different wine varietals. I was definitely, completely, and utterly wrong! Believe it or not, Shiraz and Syrah are the EXACT SAME type of wine.

In the U.S., France, and some other countries, we prefer to call the wine Syrah, while in Austrailia (where it is the most popular wine varietal), they use the word Shiraz. Why have these countries adopted different names for the same wine? To understand this better, I scoured the internet and found some interesting information at winelabels.org.

"Syrah is the French pronunciation and Shiraz is the Australian pronunciation of the same root word. And that root word is probably a corruption of the ancient name for the old capital of Persia - Shiraz

It is likely James Busby brought the original vines to Australia from France in 1832. At that time the name was spelled as 'SCYRAS.' Try pronouncing scyras in an Australian accent. Now try pronouncing it the way the French would do, not saying the last letter of the word. It got transmuted in Australia to Shiraz and Syrah in France

Recently in California fans of Rhone wines have begun using the name Syrah for wines made in the French style, while other winemakers use Shiraz for new world style wines.

Not documented is the link with the ancient city Shiraz. But this area had some of the worlds earliest vineyards and some people argue the Phoenicians bought the vines to Marseilles."

So there you have it. Next time you're drinking a Shiraz, you're also drinking a Syrah- and vice versa!

Comments

[Pascal]

I knew that it was the same varietal but thanks for detailed explanation which I didn't know. Just would like to add that if you have $50 to spend in a bottle of wine you should try an Hermitage or a Cote Rotie to appreciate all the splendor of Syrah grape.

[wineandwheels]

great post! And cool site, too. I think budget wines are under rated. I've written on a few over here: http://wineandwheels.com/2006/11/pair-your-thanksgiving-meal-with-proper.html

[nic]

Just a quick note, the name 'Shiraz' from the Australian stand point is definitely from Iran, as a large number of grapes/vines were saved during the revolution of 1979 and shipped off to the closest environment/climate which would be Australia. (also several vines had already been transferred to Australia over the past century, so it was a fair deal) It is a hark back to the original home of the grape vines.