Following years of strong planting due to growing demand for the red wine, Shiraz in the year 2004 was estimated to be world’s seventh most grown grape variant with 142,600 hectares of land under plantation.

This variant can be found in traditional wine growing areas like France and Italy, to the new wine making regions like Chile, South Africa, and Argentina.

It is also grown in regions like Hawke’s Bay in New Zealand, California and Washington in USA and Barossa, Coonawarra, McLaren Vale, Hunter Valley and Margaret River in Australia.

Somewhere during this movement, mostly to Isère, the vine crossed the Mondeuse Blanche variant, the native of the Savoie region to produce Syrah, later named Shiraz in Australia.

Thus, both the varieties of grapes which led to the development of Syrah come from an area close to northern Rhône, leading researchers to believe that Syrah originated somewhere from northern Rhône or closer.

The Syrah grape, as it is known as, is called so, in the country of its origin, that is France.

It carries the same name in the rest of Europe and countries like Uruguay, Argentina, South Africa, New Zealand and Chile.

The name Shiraz became popular due to Australia and has replaced the word Scyras.

Initially in Australia, the Syrah grape was known as Hermitage up to the late 1980s.

But since the name happens to be a French Protected Designation of Origin, the naming practice caused a big problem when it came to exports, requiring the name to be dropped, and then changed to Shiraz.

Wines with Shiraz grapes

It also to a certain extent depends on the chosen viticultural practices. If grapes are grown in moderate climates of northern Rhone Valley or parts of Walla Walla AVA in Washington, the wine tends to be medium to full-bodied, with medium to high levels of tannin and flavours of mint, blackberry and black pepper notes.

In hot climates of Crete or the Barossa Valley of Australia, the wine tends to more consistently full-bodied, with lower or softer tannin, with the fruit being jammier.

It tends to have spicy notes of anise, liquorice and earthy leather.

Though, no single aroma may be termed as ‘typical’, blackberry and pepper tend to be quite noticeable.

And with the amount of time the wines spend aging, the primary notes of the wine get moderated to lead to development of tertiary notes of truffle.

Secondary flavours and aroma notes are usually those associated with oak barrels or yeast treatment that the wine makers practice.

Wines from Shiraz grapes are also quite famously enjoyed by people with cheeses like white cheddar, or the hard cheese like Manchego.

Syrah wines are best served when they are aged for a considerable duration, since they have a strong concentrated flavour and a high tannin content.

It is recommended that Syrah wines be served at temperatures of 18 degrees Celsius (65 degrees Fahrenheit)

Other grapes

Author

Are you a Copywriter?

We have a lot of articles without much content, if you can do it better, you are welcome to write a nice article, and get the proper credit for that. Read more information about beeing an author, and Contact us for more information.