🍇Argentine Syrah

One grape, two names, an ancient past

Syrah and Shiraz are the same grape — the name simply signals a style, with “Shiraz” usually implying the riper, bolder New World version. Its origins are romantic and disputed: some link it to the Persian city of Shiraz, though it is now firmly established as a native of France's Rhône Valley. Wherever it began, it travelled — and in Argentina it found a warm, high-altitude home unlike anywhere else.

Big but niche

Syrah is an important grape in Argentina without ever being a giant. Of the country's 200,000-plus hectares of vineyard, only around 13,000 are planted to Syrah — and more than 90% of that grows under the intense sun of Mendoza and San Juan. San Juan in particular has made it a signature: in that hot, dry province it is something close to a flagship grape, the wine they'd point you to first.