Shiraz/Syrah Pronounced She-razz/See-rar
"Ladies & Gentlemen..in the red corner we have Australia and in the blue corner we have France." In fact the story is slightly more complex than this but today world's two great Shiraz/Syrah nations are Australia and France and although the two names represent the same genetic material they do differ in style and taste. French (Old World) Syrah tends to be leaner, more peppery and more savoury than that the New World's re-badged version; Shiraz, which is more intense, hedonistic and indulgent with more fruit, more oak and more viscosity.
Spain, Italy, California, New Zealand and South Africa are also now producing a number of very commendable Shiraz wines, very often blending them with Syrah's soulmate from the Rhone Valley, the Grenache and occasionally flirting with Cabernet Sauvignon, with varying degrees of success. Also of note is the recent trend in the New World to immitate the wines of Cote-Rotie by co-fermenting Shiraz with a little of the white variety Viognier to promote a softer, more rounded, more expressive version of Shiraz.