🍇 Syrah
A red grape from the Rhône Valley; in Australia it is called Shiraz.
Syrah is a dark-skinned wine grape from the Rhône Valley in France; in Australia and many other countries it is called Shiraz. According to the OIV, in 2015 it covered 190,000 ha worldwide and was grown in 31 countries.
Syrah's parents are two little-known French varieties: the white Mondeuse Blanche from Savoie and the dark Dureza from the Ardèche. The OIV and the VIVC catalogue both confirm this with DNA markers. The VIVC counts 102 synonyms for the variety, Shiraz among them.
The variety buds late but ripens quickly, and it is picked late. The vines are very vigorous, the bunches large and the berries small to medium. Syrah is very sensitive to chlorosis; yields range from 3 to 8 t/ha. Its wines are dark and tannic, and, according to the OIV, consumers like their aroma if yields are not too high.
Syrah has spread all over the world. In Australia it is the most widely planted variety, with 40,000 ha, over a quarter of the vineyards. France has 64,000 ha of it, with plenty also in Spain, Argentina, South Africa and Chile. At home, in Côte-Rôtie in the northern Rhône, Syrah has to make up at least 80% of the wine; up to 20% of the vines may be white Viognier, and the grapes of both varieties ferment together.
Why it matters to you. “Syrah” and “Shiraz” on a label are one and the same variety. If it is named on a wine from the EU, the bottle contains at least 85% of it. These wines are served at 15–18 °C and stored lying down at 10–16 °C.
How it connects to Wine
🍇 Syrah → kind of → 🍇 Grape varieties → kind of → 🍷 Wine
Links
- What is made from it
- 🥃 Marc des Côtes-du-Rhône, 🥃 Eau-de-vie de Faugères
- Part of
- 🍇 Grape varieties
- Origin
- 🗺️ French wine
- Where it grows
- France: 📍 Rhône Valley, 📍 Languedoc, 📍 Northern Rhône, 📍 Southern Rhône, 📍 Languedoc-Roussillon, 📍 Provence
Türkiye: 📍 Aegean, 📍 Manisa, 📍 Mediterranean, 📍 Elmalı
Switzerland: 📍 Valais, 📜 Sion
Portugal: 📍 Algarve, 📍 Alentejo - Main grape in
- France: 📜 Côte-Rôtie, 📜 Châteauneuf-du-Pape, 📜 Hermitage, 📜 Côtes de Provence, 📜 Côtes du Rhône, 📜 Cornas, 📜 Côtes du Rhône Villages, 📜 Luberon, 📜 Rasteau, 📜 Ventoux
and 37 more
📜 Collioure, 📜 Crozes-Hermitage, 📜 Côtes du Roussillon, 📜 Fitou, 📜 Gigondas, 📜 Minervois, 📜 Saint-Chinian, 📜 Saint-Joseph, 📜 Terrasses du Larzac, 📜 Corbières, 📜 Gaillac, 📍 Languedoc, 📜 Pays d'Oc, 📜 Pic Saint-Loup, 📜 Vacqueyras, 📜 Cabardès, 📜 Collines Rhodaniennes, 📜 Coteaux Varois en Provence, 📜 Coteaux d'Aix-en-Provence, 📜 Côtes de Millau, 📜 Duché d'Uzès, 📜 La Clape, 📜 Les Baux-de-Provence, 📜 Boutenac, 📜 Côtes du Vivarais, 📜 Fronton, 📜 Pierrevert, 📜 Vinsobres, 📜 Beaumes de Venise, 📜 Cairanne, 📜 Costières de Nîmes, 📜 Côtes du Roussillon Villages, 📜 Faugères, 📜 Grignan-les-Adhémar, 📜 La Livinière, 📜 Lirac, 📜 Saint-Sardos
Spain: 📜 Dominio de Valdepusa, 📜 Vallegarcía, 📜 Dehesa del Carrizal, 📜 Abadía Retuerta
Italy: 📍 Sicily, 📜 Cortona
Portugal: 📍 Algarve - Related to
- 🍷 La Monaca, 🍷 Madamarosè, 🍷 Sallier de La Tour Syrah, 🍷 Syrah La Tour, 🍷 Pöckl Rêve de Jeunesse, 🍷 Dúzsi Syrah Rosé, 🍷 Dúzsi Ó Vörös Birtokbor, 🍷 Dúzsi Pentaton, 🍷 Dúzsi Shiraz, 🍷 Dúzsi Shiraz Válogatás
and 24 more
🍷 Guigal Côte-Rôtie La Mouline, 🍷 Guigal Côte-Rôtie La Landonne, 🍷 Guigal Côte-Rôtie La Turque, 🍷 Guigal Côte-Rôtie La Reynarde, 🍷 Guigal Côte-Rôtie Château d’Ampuis, 🍷 Guigal Côte-Rôtie Brune et Blonde, 🍷 Guigal Ermitage Ex-Voto Rouge, 🍷 Guigal Hermitage Rouge, 🍷 Guigal Saint-Joseph Lieu-dit Rouge, 🍷 Guigal Saint-Joseph Vignes de l’Hospice, 🍷 Guigal Saint-Joseph Rouge, 🍷 Guigal Crozes-Hermitage Rouge, 🍷 Guigal Châteauneuf-du-Pape Rouge, 🍷 Guigal Gigondas, 🍷 Guigal Tavel, 🍷 Guigal Côtes du Rhône Rouge, 🍷 Guigal Côtes du Rhône Rosé, 🍷 Château de Nalys Rouge, 🍷 Saintes Pierres de Nalys Rouge, 🍷 Sauska Syrah, 🍷 Sauska Cuvée 13, 🍷 Sparkling Shiraz, 🍷 GSM blend, 🍷 Red wine - Wines made from it
- 🍷 Rosé
- Offspring
- 🍇 Durif, 🍇 Rubin
- Parents
- 🍇 Mondeuse Blanche, 🍇 Dureza
Frequently asked questions
Are Syrah and Shiraz different varieties?
No, it is one variety. Shiraz is its synonym, which the OIV records in many countries, including Australia.
Who are the parents of Syrah?
Mondeuse Blanche from Savoie and Dureza from the Ardèche; DNA analysis showed this, and it is recorded in the VIVC catalogue.
Where is there the most Syrah?
According to the OIV, in France (64,000 ha) and Australia (40,000 ha), where it is the country's leading variety.
Is it true that Syrah was brought from Persia, from the city of Shiraz?
No. Genetics showed that its parents are old varieties from Savoie and the Ardèche, so Syrah is a native of France.
Can white grapes be added in Côte-Rôtie?
Yes. The appellation rules allow up to 20% white Viognier to be planted among the Syrah vines; the grapes of both varieties ferment together, and the wine contains at least 80% Syrah.
What to read next
- 🗺️ French wine — The country's wine and winemaking: regions, grapes and appellations.
- 📜 Châteauneuf-du-Pape — French PDO for still white and red wines from Châteauneuf-du-Pape and four other communes of the Vaucluse.
- 🍷 Dúzsi Ó Vörös Birtokbor — Dúzsi Ó Vörös Birtokbor: red wine by Dúzsi from Szekszárd; Ó Vörös Birtokbor.
- 🍷 Red wine — Wine from dark grapes that ferments with the skins and takes its colour from them.
- 📍 Provence — A wine region in south-east France where over 90% of the wine is rosé; the main appellations are Côtes de Provence, Coteaux d'Aix-en-Provence and Coteaux Varois.
Similar
🍇 Grenache · 🍇 Mourvèdre · 🍇 Cinsaut · 🍇 Carignan · 🍇 Viognier · 🍇 Roussanne
Sources
- VIVC (Vitis International Variety Catalogue): passport Syrah, pedigree confirmed by DNA markers
- OIV Focus 2017: Distribution of the world's grapevine varieties
- INAO: cahier des charges de l'AOC « Côte Rôtie » (2023)
- Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/33, Art. 49–50 (vintage year, wine grape varieties on the label)
- Simons C.T. Left out in the cold: Serving wines chilled. Temperature, 2019
- Butzke C. Wine Storage Guidelines. Purdue Extension FS-58-W