Wine Time

Que Syrah, Syrah

A juicy steak at Epic Chophouse.

A tale of two completely different wines with similar names

by Trevor Burton | photography by Trevor Burton

William Shakespeare nailed it when he said, “A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” There’s a vinous version, “A Syrah wine by another name would be a Shiraz.” The question gets asked all the time. “What’s the difference between Syrah and Shiraz?” There are two different answers. If it’s the grape you’re talking about, the answer is, “Nothing.” If it’s wine you’re talking about, the answer is, “Quite a lot.”

Here’s the story from the grapevine. Going back in time, it was James Busby who introduced European grapes to Australia. In 1831 he made a trip back to Europe to collect cuttings from vines (primarily from France and Spain) for introduction to Australia. One of the varieties collected by him was Syrah from France. The grape may have picked up its new name from the spelling Busby used to catalog his grapes. He used the two spellings “Scyras” and “Ciras.” It’s easy to see how either of these spellings could glide into “Shiraz.” The cuttings were planted in the Sydney Botanical Gardens, and in Hunter Valley, and in 1839 brought from Sydney to South Australia. By the 1860s, Syrah (Shiraz) was established as an important variety in Australia.

When it comes to wines there is a big contrast. Where the grapes are grown makes a big difference. Australian wines tend to be big and bold. They are full bodied and bursting with rich, ripe, and intense fruit flavors—plum, blackberry, cherry and hints of spice. These fruit driven wines are usually made in an easy drinking style and are good everyday wines. French wines are leaner than the Australian style. They’re more complex—spice, cherry, tar, smoke, cassis, plum. They’re earthy and lively with more acidity, they’re tannic, and typically capable of short to long term bottle aging. One interesting twist is that the Australian grape is probably closer to the original Rhône Syrah than the grapes that are found in France today. Australia escaped the phylloxera scourge that all but wiped out France’s grapes in the late 19th century. France recovered by grafting cuttings onto non-native, resistant rootstock. So, Australia’s grapes are closer to the original than France’s.

It’s a small world after all. The naming of the grape, Petite Sirah throws more confusion into the mix. Note the spelling— Sirah, not Syrah. Petite Sirah was the result of cross pollination between Syrah and relatively minor Rhône variety, Peloursin. Maybe intentionally or maybe accidentally, it occurred under the care of a French botanist, François Durif. For many years the grape was called Durif. It still goes by that name in Australia. So, Syrah, Shiraz, Petite Sirah and Durif—Que Syrah, Syrah.

That brings us to the happy ending. My wife and I have been dining at Epic Chophouse in Mooresville, literally, from day one. I usually browse through a restaurant’s wine list as a part of wine exploration; and Epic has a large list. However, here I stick to an old favorite, a Petite Sirah from the Napa Valley. Years ago, one of Epic’s owners recommended it as a new addition to the wine list. For me it’s just perfect for a juicy, tasty steak. Petite Sirah gets its name from the fact that the grape berries are small. Going back to high school geometry, the smaller the grape, the greater the ratio of skin to juice. That produces more intense wines. An intense wine that goes wonderfully with that juicy steak.

I love the world of Syrah, in general. But I especially love my personal wine rut at Epic Chophouse. I don’t think it can be attributed to William Shakespeare but, as someone once said, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” I’ll sip to that.