Syrah – Hurrah (Wine Wino)

O.K. - cheesy rhyme. We know. But it’s finally a new year and the winter chill is in the air. So when we think about comfort soups and stews, we automatically thought of serving up some earthy Syrah or Shiraz.

This is a funny wine varietal because it has two very distinct styles – that of the Old World wines and that of the New World wine. We could spend our time right now discussing the merits of both types of wine. The debate would be long and lengthy and would be bound to offend someone (and we’re strictly non-confrontational here). So forget it. We won’t tell you which one is better. But we will tell you that they are different.

Old World Syrah comes from France, primarily from the Northern Rhone (Hermitage and Cote-Rotie). A trick to identifying Old World wines, especially those from France, is to know your regions. If the red wine you are picking up comes from the Northern Rhone, Syrah is the red grape grown there even if it does not list Syrah on the label. Shiraz is the New World equivalent of Syrah and comes from Australia, South Africa and California.

You will notice that in the Cheat Sheet for Syrah / Shiraz, there are two lists that don’t look like the same wine. You could schedule two separate parties for each because they differ so greatly. If you are really adventurous go for it in one evening.

Now – have you picked up your party kit yet? Better log in now to buy it today so you can start your own tasting club this month. We’ll see you at www.thewinoclub.com!

Sincerely, Darcy & Stacy

Syrah / Shiraz Quick Tasting (Wine Wino)

This wine has a heavy pigment, high tannin, high alcohol and definitely needs time to mature. It is all about HERBS and SPICE.

For Old World Syrah, look for some of the following scents and flavors when tasting:

Spice
Lavender
Black Pepper
Musk
Mole Sauce
Game

For New World Shiraz, look for some of the following scents and flavors when tasting:

Blackberry Jam
Vanilla Bean
Baked Earth
Smoked Meat
Chocolate

Don't forget to check out this month's tasty food pairings for this wine on our newsletter available at www.thewinoclub.com.