Syrah vs shiraz: what’s the difference?
Stephen Wong MW in Free for all Become a member to view this article
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Shiraz and syrah are the same grape variety. Wikimedia Commons
Guide to Shiraz/Syrah Feature Week
This is a common question which gets asked early in a wine drinker’s journey and there are two ways to answer it (which produces two answers!).
Factually, there is no difference, the grape variety which is called shiraz in Australia is the same variety as syrah. It took on this name because of how hand-writing was interpreted in the early days of viticulture in Australia.
Factually, there is no difference, the grape variety which is called shiraz in Australia is the same variety as syrah.The Busby collection had syrah vines with hand-written labels which read Scyras and Ciras (in botany and horticulture, grape variety names are capitalised as a rule, but most newspapers and magazines choose not to). Early documents in Australia actually refer to the grape as Scyras, alongside the more common moniker of the time of Hermitage which suggests that grapegrowers and winemakers knew that it was the same as the syrah grape of France’s Hermitage region.
There are many disputed stories regarding how those were anglicised to ‘shiraz’, including some which tried to tie its origins to the Iranian city of Shiraz. It is possible that scyras was simple assumed to be shiraz because of their visual similarity, and the name stuck. There is evidence to suggest that there were wines called Shiraz (after the city, just as there are wines called Port after Oporto, etc) but they are unlikely to have been made from syrah.
Genetically, syrah is most likely to have originated in France because it is the natural crossing of dureza and mondeuse blanche. These varieties are native to the Ardèche and the Savoie respectively, which makes it very logical for syrah to have emerged in the Rhône-Alpes region. This makes any of the legends involving the Phoenicians or Crusaders bringing the variety from Shiraz in Iran highly unbelievable, especially as there is no archeological evidence of the vine anywhere along the way (or even at the point of supposed origin) which fits chronologically into any of those stories.
The other way of viewing this question is to consider the wines labelled syrah against those labelled shiraz. Taking this into account, there are discernible distinctions, as the two names have naturally gravitated towards different styles of wine.
There are discernible distinctions, as the two names have naturally gravitated towards different styles of wine.Shiraz, which is mainly used in Australia with historical support from South Africa (less so these days), is a warmer climate style of wine; weightier, riper, usually higher in alcohol and with a sweet, dark fruit leaning towards blackberries and black plums. Syrah on the other hand is strongly affiliated to its Northern Rhône origins and is used in cooler-climate and more temperate wine regions where perfume, floral notes and peppery spice are sought after.
New Zealand toyed with shiraz briefly (now-defunct winery Kemblefield in Hawke’s Bay used to label it shiraz) before swinging firmly to the French naming of the variety. There are also some producers in Australia who choose to use syrah on their labels instead of shiraz as a stylistic choice.
So in short, yes, they are the same grape variety, but at the same time, a wine labelled syrah will taste quite different than one labelled shiraz. Isn’t wine a complex, delicious mess?!