Syrah and Shiraz. Two different names for the same grape variety, but also the name of two different styles of wine. Originally from France but spread around the world today, it has found its own identity in regions far away from the original origin.

The black grape Syrah comes from the French Rh&ocirc;ne valley and it&rsquo;s still very much planted there. Here, it&rsquo;s the only variety used in Hermitage and Cornas, and also used in blends with other local grapes in areas like Ch&acirc;teauneuf-du-Pape and C&ocirc;tes du Rh&ocirc;ne to mention a few. The grape name won&rsquo;t appear on the label though since in France, and in Europe in general, the origin is of more importance than the grape variety.

As France is writing the wine region instead of the grape on the label, countries outside of Europe favors writing the grape variety over the region. Due to this, the term Shiraz is commonly seen on wine labels as it&rsquo;s almost exclusively produced outside of Europe. The origin of the name Shiraz, instead of the French Syrah, is said to be Australian. When wine production here advanced, Syrah vines were sent from France to be planted, however the mistake of writing Scyras instead of Syrah was made and eventually that transformed to the Shiraz we know today. It&rsquo;s in Australia Shiraz has made a name for itself, just like with Syrah in Rh&ocirc;ne. The most premium area for Shiraz would be the Australian Barossa Valley, an area known by many today.

Even though the names are different it is still the same grape variety. They are made in different styles though, where Syrah often tends to be more austere with flavor of dark berries, black pepper, licorice and leather. A Shiraz wine on the contrary would be described as a more full-bodied style with riper fruit and berries, and often a higher alcohol due to the warmer climate the grapes grow in. Today, winemakers around the world choose to label their wine either as Syrah or Shiraz depending of the style they make and the image they want to convey. In either case it&rsquo;s a fantastic grape with different expressions, which will be your favorite?

Syrah and Shiraz. Two different names for the same grape variety, but also the name of two different styles of wine. Originally from France but spread around the world today, it has found its own identity in regions far away from the original origin.

The black grape Syrah comes from the French Rhône valley and it’s still very much planted there. Here, it’s the only variety used in Hermitage and Cornas, and also used in blends with other local grapes in areas like Châteauneuf-du-Pape and Côtes du Rhône to mention a few. The grape name won’t appear on the label though since in France, and in Europe in general, the origin is of more importance than the grape variety.

Decoding the wine label: Syrah or Shiraz?

Wines from grapes grown in higher altitude areas with cooler climate has become quite the trend recently. This specific growing environment gives intense flavor but elegance and freshness to the final wines. To highlight and champion these conditions more and more winemakers are starting to use alto as a marketing and labelling term to show their grapes were grown in high altitude vineyards.

Decoding the wine label: Alto

Brut is a word often seen on labels for different kinds of sparkling wine. As you may have discovered when drinking these wines, it indicates that the wine is dry, meaning there is no perceived sweetness in the wine. But how about Extra Brut or Dry, what do they mean and are they the same as Brut?

Decoding the wine label: Brut

Semi-sweet Riesling, a type of wine falling out of style. It’s a shame, since these wines are perfect to pair with flavorful cuisines like Asian or Mexican, or simply drink as they come under the summer sun. The higher level of sugar left in the wine also means that the alcoholic fermentation was stopped before finishing, providing a wine with lower alcohol level and therefor easier grabbing a second glass of.

Decoding the wine label: Spätlese

Have you ever heard the word Xinomavro? Most have not. It is however a word on many sommeliers’ lips today, as it happens to be considered the grape variety with the highest quality in Greece, and one that is trending at the moment. The fact that Greece have been making wine for a long time comes as no surprise, but they have never exported an amount to make sure wine lovers around the globe tried it. With the growing wine tourism many have discovered these wines and are serving them in wine bars and restaurants in many countries today.

Decoding the wine label: Xinomavro

Chianti Classico, Valpolicella Classico, Soave Classico… Why do all these Italian wine regions have the Classico addendum and what does it mean? What is the difference for wines labeled as Classico?

Classico is a wine term in Italy seen on a few wine labels and it indicates that the wine’s from the historic center of the region, the heart. Using Chianti and Chianti Classico and their Sangiovese-based red wines as an example, Chianti is a rather large wine district within the Tuscany region. Chianti Classico is located withing Chianti as the central part and the one that originally existed. Back then this smaller region was actually called Chianti, but as the region grew the quality of the wine plummeted and the well-known characteristics of these red wines were watered down. The reputation took a hit and sales diminished. Eventually this led to the creation of Chianti Classico, which would be drawn from the original Chianti borders to recover the typicity of these wines. Today the quality of both Chianti and Chianti Classico have risen a lot due to modern techniques and knowledge about pruning, planting and temperature control in the winery.

Decoding the wine label: Classico

In the rarefied world of fine wine, where bottles can command prices equivalent to luxury cars, authenticity is everything. Laurent Ponsot's gripping memoir "FBI: Fake Bottle Investigation" reads more like a high-stakes thriller than a traditional wine book, chronicling his relentless pursuit of one of the wine world's most infamous counterfeiters, Rudy Kurniawan.

From Burgundy's Vineyards to the FBI's Most Wanted: A Winemaker's Quest for Justice

Chablis – one of the more popular styles of wine today and a region known by many. Most are familiar with the word Chablis and the light, fresh white wine with a touch of minerality it brings. Even though it’s a renowned wine, few knows what it really is.

Decoding the wine label: Chablis

Many grape varieties around the world of wine have names local to the region or country they’re grown in, even though they’re exactly the same. The most famous example would be Syrah in France where the same grape is named Shiraz in Australia. Another variety with two names is Pinot Grigio, or Pinot Gris.

Decoding the wine label: Pinot Grigio

Have you ever seen the term sur lie on a wine label? It’s not a grape and not a wine region, but a winemaking method used to give certain styles of white wine a rounder texture and a more complex flavor profile.

Decoding the wine label: Sur lie

1803

Grace Hood

RT: Hello and Welcome to CorkRules!&nbsp;

A podcast where&nbsp;(in each episode)&nbsp;we will review a wine list from your favorite restaurants. I&rsquo;m your host Robert Tas along with Grace Hood, Wine Educator and Certified Sommelier. Hello Grace,&nbsp;it&rsquo;s great to have you!

GH: Hi Robert! Happy to be back!

RT Before we jump in, let&rsquo;s talk about CorkRules.

We created CorkRules to demystify wine list&rsquo;s because we know from experience, that sometimes when we get that list handed to us, well&hellip; it can be intimidating, and even a little daunting.

Our aim is to help prepare you to navigate that list, find those hidden gems, value wines or that special bottle that will take your dining experience over the top.

RT:&nbsp;So, sit back and listen as we review your favorite wine list.

So Grace - last time to tackled Asian fusion cuisine wine pairings Buddakan, now we&rsquo;re moving to a much different area and cuisine of the world - New Orleans! I&rsquo;m excited to hear your thoughts on 1803.

GH: Yes totally! First and foremost - I absolutely LOVE New Orleans - the food, the culture, the people, the music, the ultimate party! I love the deep-rooted blended histories of French, Cajun, Caribbean and Spanish influence you get in New Orleans cuisine - it&#39;s so flavorful and exciting and delicious.

RT: Absolutely! Now with that in mind, it sounds like we&rsquo;re going to have a few things into consideration when it comes to pairing New Orleans cuisine.

GH: You are right - since we&rsquo;re working with a fusion of European and Caribbean cuisine, we&rsquo;re going to have lots of flavors to work with. We&rsquo;ve got the classic New Orleans spicy savory decadent dishes like gumbo and jambalaya, but then also the lighter dishes like oysters and Nicoise salads.

RT: Totally - so what are your initial thoughts on the 1803 list?

GH: So this is a very approachable list in both size, selections and price point! This is a very easy wine list to read and understand just be how uncomplicated it is which is a nice change sometimes from the big weighty lists we&rsquo;ve been diving into. Upon first glance, this list is def honoring New Orlean&#39;s deep French history by including lots of French wine on the list, and also a lot of domestic aka American wine! When it comes to picking a wine for the cuisine, we&rsquo;re def going to be thinking about courses and what wines will go with the food. I noticed that 1803 does oysters in 3 different styles, and I think that would be a fun way to start your meal. And course the classic pairing for oysters is sparkling wine - notice I didn&rsquo;t say Champagne, b/c as many of us know, champagne can only be called champagne if it comes from the champagne region of France. And for the most part, Champagne is going to be a little outside of most peoples every day price point. However there are amazing affordable alternatives when it comes to sparkling wine - like this Jean- Jaques Vincent Cr&eacute;mant de Bourgogne. Cremant is the name for any French sparkling wine made outside of Champagne and is a personal favorite of mine. It is crispy, aromatic, bright and delish and will pair fabulous with most of the 1803 menu.

RT: I love that! Another great wine lesson. Now you mentioned gumbo and jambalaya. What kinds of wines would pair with those spicy savory hearty dishes?

GH: So like we were discussing the last episode with the Buddakan wine list, spicy dishes need some slight sweetness and off-dry palates to cut all those peppery experiences going on in your olfactory senses. The ones that stuck out to me on the 1803 menu would be either the Eyrie Vineyards Pinot Gris from the Dundee Hills of Oregon - an amazing region for producing pinot gris, which essentially is just the domestic name for pinot grigio. But unlike its Italian cousin that tends to be more medium-bodied with lots of citrusy notes, Oregon Pinot Gris is lighter with lots more minerality, and a personal favorite of mine. OR if you&rsquo;re looking to go with a red wine, we&rsquo;re going to want to go with a lighter-bodied red to pair with that tomato spicy goodness. I would recommend the Domaine Magali Mathray, Beaujolais 2016 - which is Gamay noir from the burgundy region of France. Gamay is such an under-the-radar varietal - I like to call it the cousin of pinot noir. If you enjoy lighter style reds, than Gamay is for you.

RT: Now Grace, sometimes people have a budget in mind.&nbsp; any great value wines you&rsquo;d point us too?&nbsp;

GH: Absolutely. So, I saw one of my favorite French whites on here - picpoul! It&#39;s a white grape grown in the south of France, and not many people know about it b/c it&rsquo;s not as famous as a grape as sauvignon blanc or chardonnay, so not as much of it gets exported to the united states. However, it is a spectacular value wine. It&#39;s light, crispy, dry, acidic and delish. Check out the &ldquo;Cuv&eacute;e de Dames, Picpuol from the Languedoc on the 1803 list. If we&rsquo;re looking for a value red, I would go with the Samorens, &ldquo;C&ocirc;tes du Rh&ocirc;ne&rdquo;. Cotes du Rhone is a red blend of usually GSM - Grenache Syrah Mourvedre - grown in the southeast region of France. Cotes du Rhodes are notorious for being medium-bodied but full of earthy, fruity notes.

RT: Now Grace, what if I have a big client dinner or a special occasion where I want to take it up a notch?

GH: Totally - Right off the bat I saw the 2007 Louis Roederer, Brut Ros&eacute;, Champagne - and that is going to be fantastic. Most people know that champagne and sparkling is light and crispy and zingy. However, when champagne has some age on it, the bubbles get smaller and smaller over time and become this lush slightly sensory experience, and the fact that it&#39;s a rose, you&rsquo;re going to get so many more aromatics. And speaking of ollddddd wines I saw they have a 1986 Chateau Haut-Bages Averous Bordeaux from Pauillac! Now I can&rsquo;t say with certainty that this 36-year-old wine is going to be as bright as it once was, but it sure is going to be a really fascinating wine to try, especially if you haven&rsquo;t had a really old wine! Bordeaux are notorious for being able to age really well, so give it a try!

&nbsp;RT: Maria Thank you so much for all your great suggestions and helping us navigate 1803.

To our audience, thank you all for joining us here on CorkRules.&nbsp; If you would like us to review one of your favorite restaurants, please send us email to: <a href="mailto:Info@corkrules.Com">Info@corkrules.Com</a> or visit our web website where we have a request form available and we will do our best to get it in the queue as quick as possible.

We are looking forward to being with you on another CorkRules episode soon. In the meantime, please check out our website for other episodes of your favorite restaurant wine lists. Follow us on social media @corkrules and @wineswithgraceAnd finally, drink what you love and please make sure you drink responsibly.

Thank you.

End

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