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Is it Syrah or Shiraz?

Written By: Michael Corbett on Tuesday, January 8, 2008

Tackle one of wine's classic questions - what is the difference between Syrah and Shiraz?

Both! Syrah is an old Rhone varietal that has been planted throughout the world capable of vinifying into a range of wines from juicy/berry table wines to complex tannin puzzles. It is Australia, where it takes on its alter-ego Shiraz, which has put this now emerging varietal on the map. Shiraz is Australia's number one planting, and because of their marketing success many other regions are calling their syrah – Shiraz.

Shiraz is the perfect wine to illustrate one of the artisan tasks of winemaking, the art of blending. ALL wines are blended in some way – and when shiraz is, it is often noted on the label something that is great for the consumer. Think of it this way, with hundreds of grape varietals available, why would a winemaker use only one flavor profile? By blending in other varietals, a winemaker can tweak a particular wine to accent a certain flavor, bring in some lacking structure, or tone down an overly tannic creation. Wine is blended on a lab scale level, and tasted, tasted, tasted, with constant changes to amounts in order to create the best possible blend from the available wine that year. Here are some great examples of common blends where shiraz complements another varietal, or visa versa:

Shiraz/Grenache
For those not familiar with it, Grenache is a wonderfully easy drinking light red wine. It often has an aromatic nose of light red fruits such as strawberry, a simple light pallet, and a tight but intense finish. It is often blended with 10-30% shiraz, which darkens the color, can add some dark fruits and black pepper to the nose, tannin complexity to the pallet, and makes for a longer lasting finish.

Shiraz/Viognier
Brace yourself for the un-expected; viognier is an aromatic WHITE wine. A practice that started in France, and continued into Australia (who proudly put the blend on the bottle), viognier is added to shiraz blends in small amounts (10% max) to increase the nose. The aromatic qualities of viognier can add wonderful aromas to shiraz such as peach and apricot

Shiraz/Cabernet Sauvignon
Two tannic grapes meet with two different stories, one of dark fruits and black pepper, and the other of cassis and vanilla. This blend can be found both heavy on the shiraz or heavy on the cabernet sauvignon. In either case, the two blend together so well, you could end up in a debate as to whether cabernet complements the shiraz, or shiraz complements the cab. Either way, you get a complex wine that can match up to the reddest of red meats.

If you're struggling for ideas for a wine tasting or party, pick a category above and grab a bottle of each varietal, as well as the blend. Sit down with your friends and see if you can pick out what each varietal brings to the blend. When looking for these wines, you'll pretty much find yourself limited to the Australian region. Australia takes pride in labeling their blends, and because of this is a great wine region for the learning wine drinker!

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