The Wine Institute

A newcomer to the California wine scene, Syrah has gained in popularity only in the last decade with the state’s wineries shipping 2.5 million cases to the U.S. in 2009. Syrah is a noble grape variety that can produce some serious, long-lived red wines. The usual aroma and flavor descriptors include blackberry, cassis, black pepper, smoke, as well as dry, dark and tannic.

The Syrah Grape

Through DNA testing, Syrah has shown to be a cross of a black variety, Dureza, and a white variety, Mondeuse, both with origins in France’s Rhône region and earlier fabled origins in the Middle East. The grape is also known as Sirah, and in Australia and South Africa, it is called Shiraz. It should not be confused with Petite Sirah, which is altogether a different grape variety, identified more recently as Durif through DNA testing.

Although Syrah acreage has existed in California for some time, such as the pre-Prohibition plantings in Mendocino County, most of the substantial plantings have occurred in the 1990s. Today, the most acreage is in San Luis Obispo County with 2,770 acres, followed by San Joaquin County, 1,973 acres and Sonoma County, 1,970 acres. Syrah’s grape crush of 127,527 tons in 2010 accounted for about three percent of the total state’s winegrape crush.

Top 10 California Counties for Syrah Acreage, 2010

Source: California Agricultural Statistics Service

California Syrah Grape Crush Tonnage

Source: California Agricultural Statistics Service.