International Syrah Day – 16th February 2024

Yes there is a day for everything – including wine made from Syrah! If you haven’t heard, every year on the 16th of February is the annual International Syrah Day.

I love wine holidays as they are a great way to support the wine industry, alongside having an excuse to crack open a bottle of wine.

After extensive research, I can still not pinpoint how International Syrah Day actually started. There are numerous online resources which say Feb 16th is International International Syrah Day like Decantalo and Mastermind Consulting to name a couple. So if you are reading this and know the origins to this day, please do let me know so I can add it to this post.

To help celebrate International Syrah Day, let’s get sipping:

Are Syrah and Shiraz different grapes?

No, they are the same grape! Typically a winemaker chooses to either call it Syrah or Shiraz because of the style it has been made in.

You’ll find a lot of the stuff you get in Europe and Old World countries to be called Syrah and a lot of the New World wine regions will call it Shiraz, like here in Australia. However, this is definitely not the case all the time.

Typically ‘Shiraz’ is used for those rich, fruit forward wines, while Syrah is leaning more towards a French style which is elegant and refined. It is up to each producer which name they want to use.

To confuse things even further – International Shiraz Day is seperate to International Syrah Day and is actually celebrated on the 4th Thursday of July every year.

Long story short, Syrah and Shiraz are the same grape variety!

What food pairs with Syrah?

My go-to Shiraz/Syrah food pairing is curry. I absolutely love the combo and you’ll rarely find me have another pairing as I am so in love with this combination.

On the odd occasions I do match something else, I am quite a fan of Syrah and lamb, whether that be a lamb roast or even lamb sausages.

What flavours are typical in a Syrah?

From herbal notes like black pepper and star anise to blue and black fruits like plums, blueberries will entice you in for more. Plus you can get yummy notes of things like black olives, chocolate and tobacco.

I find Syrah really elegant. It’s one of those iron fist in a velvet glove type of wines. It can pack a punch, but it does it with suave. Sometimes decanting it for an hour or running it through an aerator can make it a bit more smoother and balanced. However sometimes it just needs to sit in the cellar for a bit longer. Some of the good Syrah’s should be kept for 10+ years.

Syrah wines to try

Here are a few Syrah’s I have tried which you may want to check out for this coming International Syrah Day:

Lansdowne Wines Spot On Syrah 2019 – Adelaide Hills, South Australia

This was my prep for International Syrah Day 2023. I thought I would get in a few days early and practice. They say practice makes perfect right 😉

I bought this Australian Syrah from Good Pair Days and it hails from Adelaide Hills in South Australia. It’s made by Lansdowne Wines who I am a huge fan of.

In the glass it’s a juicy plum colour. The nose is elegant and classy with currant and blueberries coming through, some smoked oak and spice. In the mouth it’s darn delicious. Warming and so easy to drink. Love ??

Sholto Wines 2018 Syrah – Canberra

Alternative wines made from mainstream grape varieties is the name of the game for Canberra District’s boutique Sholto Wines.

As Jake Carter, owner of Sholto Wines said to me, he wants to “show people just how versatile these varieties can be”.

So what exactly does Jake mean by alternative wines? Here’s what he told me..

“All of my white wines receive skin contact because I believe that is where a lot of the flavour and texture is and my Rieslings are given barrel fermentation to add a different element to the variety. And a lot of my reds go through Carbonic Maceration and extended skin contact to broaden the flavour profile.“

Read my tasting note on the Sholto 2018 Reisling >>

How cool is that! When Jake offered to send me a couple of samples, I definitely had to say yes. I was intrigued! Thank you Jake!

This here is the Sholto 2018 Syrah and let’s just say, it went down pretty well in our house.

We found it a deep red-mauve colour in the glass. The nose is full and alluring. Think dark juicy fruits, cloves and pepper spice with a hint of leather. While in the mouth the flavours coat your entire mouth and evoke thoughts of cedar wood, pomegranate and black currant. Well balanced with a silky texture.

This wine was sent to me as a sample, I was under no obligation to post about it.

All opinions are based on my own taste buds. Wine is subjective & always evolving, so make sure you drink what you enjoy!

Bird on a Wire 2016 Syrah – Yarra Valley

Bird on a Wire from the Yarra Valley decided to use the term Syrah for this 2016 vintage. The vines grow on a steep slope and are 19 years of age. The fruit is handpicked come harvest time and the juice is matured in new French oak.

Only 250 dozen were made of this Yarra Valley Syrah and it retails for $40. I do love the sound of the food matches which were on the tasting note for this one:

Roast beef, ratatouille and paris mash or a delicious washed rind cheese.

For the wine geeks out there, you may enjoy a few more tidbits from what happened during the making of this wine:

• 10% whole bunch – inoculated and saturated with CO2. Pressed after 2 weeks.
• 50% whole bunch crush on skins for 17 days
• 20% whole berry – fruit destemmed. Plunged and pumped over for 12 days.
• 20% crushed and destemmed – pump over conducted per day over 12 days.

So enough about the wine, let’s get to sipping it hey? Here are my notes:

In the glass it’s a deep red-purple colour. The nose makes us think of black and red berry fruits with a hint of leather and spice. It smells of elegance. In the mouth it’s super velvety with a lick of anise in amongst dark fruits. Delicate, elegant and smooth. A Syrah for Pinot Noir lovers in my opinion. We matched it with some slow cooked beef chilli con carne, it went down well.

This wine was sent to me direct from the winery as a sample, I was under no obligation to post about it.

All opinions are based on my own taste buds. Wine is subjective & always evolving, so make sure you drink what you enjoy!

McWilliams McW Reserve 660 Canberra Syrah 2017

I find with so many wines on the market, it really is about learning about that unique point of difference in each wine. That thing which makes them special. So what’s special about the McWilliam’s McW 660 Reserve range?

Well the range is focused on producing ‘premium Australian cool climate, high altitude red wines – renowned for being elegant, food-friendly and generous in flavour’. For me, what stands out as unique in that sentence is the ‘high altitude’. Plus I also like the fact this is Syrah is from Canberra, as I definitely don’t drink enough wine from Canberra (and i have had some bloody good ones!).

So the average altitude where the grapes are grown for this wine are at 600 meters above sea level. How does this impact the grapes and ultimately what’s in your glass? Well the high altitude’s mean the grapes get more intense sunshine throughout the day and cooler climates at night which results in prolonged ripening periods.

With more sunshine the grapes develop deeper pigment concentration (resulting in thicker & tougher grape skins) which help give deeper colours and tannins to the wine. The slower ripening period helps to create well-balanced wines.

Okay so at the end of the day what did we think? Here are our notes:

It’s a deep scarlet red colour in the glass. Notes of red and black berries, spice, vanilla oak and a whiff of tobacco rise up from the glass. While in the mouth it has a fruity vibe to it with a subtle hint of acidity and pepper spice with some drying tannins too. If I had to pick between the McW Syrah or Cabernet Sauvignon, the Cab would definitely win my wine glass.

This wine was sent to me directly as a sample, I was under no obligation to post about it.

All opinions are based on my own taste buds. Wine is subjective & always evolving, so make sure you drink what you enjoy!

Boekenhoutskloof Porcupine Ridge 2014 Syrah

We enjoyed this South African Syrah with a Bunny Chow (here is the recipe I used – with a few slight edits (like putting it in the slow-cooker and adding chilli!). This Boekenhoutskloof Porcupine Ridge 2014 Syrah was the perfect match with its spiced black fruit aromas and flavours. It’s most definitely a full-bodied wine and I enjoyed the hints of black jellybeans that my palate seemed to pick up.

Have you tried a delicious Syrah or do you produce one? Let us know about it below!