Wine: Savvy Girl, A Guide to Wine by Deal Brittany

Author:Deal, Brittany [Deal, Brittany]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Savvy Girl
Published: 2013-11-19T22:00:00+00:00

MEET SYRAH/SHIRAZ ►THE CHAMELEON GRAPE

TYPICAL AROMA BUZZWORDS:

Raspberry, blackberry, black pepper, grilled meats

TYPICAL TASTE BUZZWORDS:

Dry, full-bodied, rich, luscious fruit

OLD WORLD SYRAH ALIAS:

(Northern) Côtes du Rhône (France); Shiraz (Australia)

First things first: Syrah and Shiraz is actually the same grape. The only difference is that Australia calls their wines made from the Syrah grape “Shiraz.” Also, Petite Sirah is a totally different grape from Syrah, and there is nothing “petite” about its taste. In fact, Petite Sirah is so brawny and tough to drink that most Petite Sirahs need to have other wines blended in to make the wine drinkable. Years of confusion cleared up in one go, am I right?

The next thing you need to know about Syrah is that this grape is a total chameleon.

According to Ryan Hill, fourth generation of the Hill Family Estate in Napa, whose family makes a Syrah wine, “Syrah can grow anywhere and everywhere.” Since this grape can grow in a variety of terroirs, it has the ability to show a sense of place in its flavors. For example, an Australian Shiraz is known for obvious fruit and “jammy” aromas, while a cooler climate Syrah has primary flavors of spice and pepper and more subtle fruit flavors. If you like Syrahs, this knowledge will help you choose one style over another at a restaurant.

The Hill family in Napa makes one of my favorite Syrahs. I asked Hill what makes his family’s Syrah so special, and he told me that in order to get depth and concentration, Syrah needs to ripen slowly. “The combination of a cool and windy vineyard location and using new oak [during maturation] allows our Syrah to have the fruit, smoke, and intensity needed to give it that Syrah charm,” he says.

A FUN FACT: The bolder fruit style of the Australian Shiraz has become so popular (despite wine snobs calling them fruit bombs) that some countries who also have warmer climates now call their Syrahs Shiraz, to indicate their wine is made in the Australian bold fruit style.

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