How to know Syrah from Shiraz Wines

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By Summersile
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You say Shiraz I say Syrah; no need to call the whole thing off. These two wines, which actually represent a slightly different treatment of the same grape varietal can live side by side in the same wine rack. Contrary to some popular misconceptions, neither term is more correct than the other; nor is one necessarily more sophisticated.
These are two terms coined for wines made from the same grape, but often treated somewhat differently during wine making, providing for different end products.
You may hear people refer to either as Syrah or Shiraz "style" wine, indicating that the term is used to define the wine making process in addition to the grape varietal used.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

A wine store with a reasonable selection
bottles of Shiraz,
bottles of Syrah
Red wine glass
Crackers and/or Cheese for Cleansing your pallet between tastings
wine journal for note taking

Step 1

Syrah is one of the original Nobel grapes from the Rhone Valley of France; it is from this grape varietal that wines labeled both Shiraz and Syrah are made. The term Shiraz originated with the Australians when they imported quite successfully the Syrah grape onto their continent. The name is meant as a tribute to the once believed birth place of the grape.
Step 2

To learn to appreciate the difference, purchase three bottles of each. California makes some very nice Syrah style wines and Australia is a sure bet for Shiraz. Ask a knowledgeable wine seller to point you in the direction of wines that are highly true to each of these styles.
Step 3

Familiarize yourself with the traditionally considered characteristics of each style of wine. Shiraz is often considered to be more “fruit forward”, higher in tannin and perhaps a bit harsher and “in your face”. Syrah, on the other hand, is generally considered to be a bit smoother with softer tannins and higher acid, the fruit notes being more subtle and the body somewhat lighter. Both styles generally display pronounced spicy and black pepper notes.
Step 4

Decant your wines into your tasting glasses and allow to breath for 45 min to an hour. Start by tasting each wine blind, (ie. do not know which wine you are tasting). Write down your impressions in your wine journal.
Step 5

Give yourself a few minutes and cleanse your pallet

Re-Familiarize yourself with the expectations for each style, and then taste the wines again with the style of each wine tasted as known. See if you can pick out the stylistic characteristics expected from the two different wine styles.
Step 6

Finally, once again taste the wines blind. See if you now can determine which wine style you are tasting based on your previous tastings and what you know are the traditional characteristics of the two styles.
Step 7

Don't be too discouraged if you have trouble with this little exercise. Remember, because the two styles are made from the same grape, they have more in common than they have differences.
Additionally, whether a wine is called Syrah vs. Shiraz can often be as much a strategy of marketing as a description of the wine itself. There are no hard and fast rules for determining which style name a wine is given, this is something left entirely to the discretion of the wine maker.
Step 8

This is a good lesson in how many different tastes can be produced from the same grape. The differences in Syrah and Shiraz are ultimately not very different from individual wines made from other varietals. The fact that two widely accepted names for this varietal have emerged serves in my mind to point out what is actually true of all wine varietals. The end product depends not only on the grape varietal used, but the method in which the wine is produced and the preferences of the wine maker. You can find differences in Merlot, Cab, Pinot, Chard and most any other varietal you might want to compare, from region to region and wine maker to wine maker that equal the subtle differences you will find between Syrah and Shiraz.
So we are back where we started, Potato, Potato, either/or. This is a red wine worth familiarizing yourself with.