What's in a name ?

Much ink is given to the Syrah/Shiraz conundrum. That is; how are they different ? Are they the same ?

Well, any French native worth their croissant will tell you that Syrah is French for Shiraz. Nothing more. Nothing less. A 1978 meeting in Paris with Sopexa executives confirmed this.

1978 also marked my fifteenth year in Australia, where I had become intimately familiar with the great red standby; Shiraz. The first recorded production was in 1834, at McLaren Vale, by Thomas Hardy.

Again, 1978 was again significant, as Australian wines were entering international markets. London was the springboard. Some exporters, maybe hoping for more acceptance, if not kudos for their beloved Shiraz, were labelling it Syrah.

What then, is Shiraz ? First and foremost, it is a city in the southwest of Iran where the grape was discovered around 2500BC. According to writings as far back as the Apostolic Chambers, through to Julien's works of the 1820's, it was transported by the Crusaders to France's northern Rhone Valley, where it became Syrah.

Syrah found its way to Australia. We do not know why Australian producers chose to identify it for its place of origin; Shiraz. Equally curious is why South African producers chose to call it Cinsault (another Rhone grape), which would later be cloned with Pinot Noir to form South Africa's national "varietal" Pinotage.

What's in a name ? You be the judge.