Oneofmypetpeeveswiththewineindustryovertheyearshasbeentheiroccasionalpracticeofinventinganewtermtodescribeanalreadydefinedword.ThisresultsinonlyfurtherconfusingwealreadybewilderedAmericanwineconsumerswhomustregularlydealwithlabelsinforeignlanguagesandnonsensicaldescriptionsofwinesasbeing“ethereal.”Anyway,Iwasremindedofthisrecentlywhensomeoneaskedmetodescribethedifferencebetweenredwinessyrahandshiraz.Well,forthoseofyouwhodon’tknow,syrahistheworld-famousgrapethathasbeengrownandproducedintheRhoneValleyofFranceforcenturies.
Shiraz,ontheotherhand,isaninventedwordthatsomewinemarketerdecidedtocallthesyrahmadeinAustraliaandSouthAfrica–andnowsometimeseveninCalifornia.Youwon’tseethewordsyrahmentionedonanyRhonelabelbecausethewinethereisidentifiedbytheproducerandtheplace(likeCote-RotieorCornas)butmostredwinefromtheregionwillbecomprisedofthatgrape.Imentionthisbecauseifyoudon’tsipsyrah,oreventhestufflabelledshiraz,you’remissingoutonwinesthat,whiledifferentinname,placeandinthewaythey’revinified,arebothexcellentandworthyofyourexploration.