About Shiraz (or Syrah)

One of the very first red wines I ever tried and liked was an Australian Shiraz in 2001 from Rosemont Estates that I bought at Trader Joe's. I liked it so much, I later went back and bought a couple of other bottles, including another Australian Shiraz from Black Opal. But none of them were anything like as enjoyable as that first. After moving to Washington, the very first wine I liked enough to buy by the case was Washington's Red Diamond Shiraz. I've not had a lot of chances to try Shiraz, but I'm about to embark and some fairly devoted exploration.

The first thing to know is that Shiraz is essentially Australian for Syrah, a grape with a noble history in the north of France. The reason for the difference in name escapes me, and the attempts to explain why Shiraz is used in Australia for exactly the same grape often rely on pseudo linguistics that just don't work, at least not for this philologist. That said, we do know, thanks to the work of the DNA researchers under the direction of Dr. Carole Meredith of the University of California at Davis that Shiraz is a descendant of two venerable French grapes; Dureza, and Mondneuse Blanche. Neither of these grapes are overly common today and were apparently never very popular. Both are varieties that are limited to southeastern France, near northern Rhêne, the home region of Syrah. Dureza is a dark-skinned, richly purple grape, a color that is also characteristic of Shiraz. I should also note, less others be as confused as I was at first, that Petite Sirah is an entirely different grape, a cross between Syrah and Peloursin, and is not to be considered the same as Shiraz or Syrah.

Even now, Shiraz (as Syrah, of course) is largely used in French wine blends that feature Cabernet sauvignon and Grenache. It is a primary ingredient of that most famous of French blends, the Châteauneuf du Pape of the southern Rhône. Shiraz was already a popular viniculture grape in Australia by the 1860s; today Australian Shiraz is even used for sparkling wine and is grown throughout the Barossa and Hunter Valleys. I note that my Australian oenophile friends tell me that in Australia a particularly good Shiraz is kept for as long as five years, and that two to three years is very common indeed, particularly in the case of Australian wineries who maintain a library or "back list."

In terms of flavor and aroma, Shiraz is typically fruity, and intense, one reason it's so very popular in blended wines. Depending on the wine, and where the grapes were grows, people typically make comparisons involving various berries, pepper, chocolate, and even, sometimes, cloves and espresso. I note that the areas in Washington growing the most Shiraz (Columbia Valley, Red Mountain, the Yakima Valley, and Walla Walla) each assert individual differences. It's one of those reds where the shape of the wine is really important; you want not just the fruit/sweet taste, but the tannins too—hence the frequent use of words like "smokey" to describe Shiraz. Shiraz is a popular pairing with grilled foods, wild game, and red meats, particularly beef stew and rich roasts. I should probably openly acknowledge that I favor it with a really good pizza, and with burgers.

The shiraz grape arrived in Washington in 1985, thanks to the good offices of Columbia Winery. In 1990, according to the Washington Wine Commission, 40 acres in Washington were planted with Shiraz. By 2001 3,000 acres of Shiraz vines were flourishing in Washington. Shiraz has flourished in the state, to the extent that it's one of the more popular varieties. There's a Shiraz for every budget, and, given the geographic and geological nature of the various growing areas in Washington (principally the Yakima and Columbia valleys) there are some marked differences in taste, never mind the differences made by various winemaker's choices. There are offerings from Washington Hills Wine for budget and less-budget minded folk, Hogue Cellars, Columbia Crest, Snoqualmie, and Covey Run, with offerings for a variety of budgets. In the $10.00 to $15.00 dollar range, there's my first Washington Shiraz, Red Diamond Shiraz (available in the seven to eight dollar range), and the Columbia Crest Two Vines Shiraz. Plus there some very good wine in the middle range from "tiered" wineries like Ste. Michelle, and Columbia Crest Grand Estates, and Hogue Cellars Genesis Syrah. There are also a lot of very good but less throughly distributed wines in the 25.00 to 30.00 range, like Forgeron Cellars 2003 Syrah, or Isenhower Cellars Horse Heaven Hills 2006 River Beauty Syrah, or their 2007 Wild Beauty Alfalfa Syrah, which look interesting for the future. There are numerous, interesting, smaller wineries too, like Cayuse Cailloux Vineyard, whose Shiraz is so very much favored that the 2005 Shiraz is well over $100.00 a bottle, if you can find it. You are also likely to find several Syrahs from McCrea Cellars on the wine lists of Washington restaurants.

My fellow Washington wine blogger, the far more knowledgeable Sean Sullivan over at Washington Wine Report, has a monthly "virtual wine tasting." You can see last month's virtual tasting here. This month, on Wednesday, April 22, Sean is hosting a virtual wine tasting of Columbia Crest's 2006 Grand Estates Shiraz. The Grand Estates label is Columbia's "middle tier," and generally runs around $12.00 a bottle (hint: check out RiteAid at $10.00 or $8.00). I'm going to play along at home; I encourage you to do the same. In the meantime, I'm going to be looking for a few other Washington Shiraz to try, beginning by re-visiting that Red Diamond I liked so much last fall.