Syrah finds its Place in the Sun

Syrah has exploded worldwide in popularity in the last 20 years and is now a staple of the fine red wine drinking community. Syrah at its best is a very deep , dark wine with plenty of rich, ripe black fruits "Blackberry, Boysenberry, plum" and spice that can come in the form of extremely powerful and complex wine to cellar, to versions that are super ripe, soft and lush and that drink deliciously young.

The great history of Syrah comes France of course where it has been grown for hundreds of years and is the base for the great wines of the Northern Rhone Valley regions of Cote Rotie, Cornas, St-Joseph and Crozes-Hermitage. In the Southern Rhone it blended with Grenache to make the famous wines of Chateauneuf-du Pape and Hermitage.

Syrah loves a warm climate and California and Australia provide the perfect conditions for Syrah to thrive and this is where the explosion of Syrah reverberates from. In California's Napa and Sonoma Valley and Central Coast, world class Syrah is made in a concentrated, grand style. Often wildly expressive in its deep fruit it can be treated, coveted and just as highly respected as the states most famous Cabernet Sauvignons.

In today's world Syrah is literally known as the wine of Australia where it is named Shiraz. It's booming success stems from the amazing amount of high quality, value priced wines that have propelled the Australian wine boom around the world in a short time. These tasty wines complement the historically great wines of longevity like Penfolds Grange Hermitage.

Fine tasting Syrah is also grown in Frances wines regions of Provance, Languedoc-Roussillon and Savoie. The state of Washington on Americas west coast can also produce world class Syrah. The richness from a good glass of Syrah warms the soul and the sprits on a cold winters eve with a hearty meal and rises to the occasion in the warm summer months; where grilled meats, sausages and vegetables are the norm.