<strong>International</strong> <strong>Wine</strong> <strong>Review</strong>The <strong>International</strong> <strong>Wine</strong> <strong>Review</strong> (IWR) is a new publication for wine professionals and wineenthusiasts who want to be In the Know about the world of wine. It is published 6 times ayear and is only available by subscription.The IWR is informative, educational and enjoyable to read---“the New Yorker of wine publications”according to a prominent importer.Not yet a subscriber? Give the I-<strong>Wine</strong> <strong>Review</strong> a try!! Take advantage of our special introductorysubscriptions by signing up online.Save up to 33% on both the web and printed versions for one year.Save up to 50% for two years!ONE YEAR SUBSCRIPTIONTWO YEAR SUBSCRIPTIONWeb Version: $60 Now $40 Web Version: $120 Now $60!Print Version $80 Now $60 Print Version: $160 Now $80!Subscribe on line at www.i-winereview.com or by mail, with check payable to:<strong>International</strong> <strong>Wine</strong> <strong>Review</strong>6625 Old Chesterbrook Rd.McLean, VA 22101TASTING GUIDELINES AND PRINCIPLES• All our tastings are conducted blind.• Tastings are conducted by a panel.• <strong>Wine</strong>s are placed in flights by similar type and suggested retail price.• WE use the 100 Point system, despite its shortcomings.• If a wine scores lower than 85 points we do not include it in the report.• Tasting notes include contact information for importers, producers, anddistributors, who provide wine samples.
This report, however, is not a blanket endorsement for all Syrah.Despite the increasing number of high quality wines on themarket, there is still a great deal of mediocrity in the marketthat consumers should avoid. Readers will be well served inreferring to use our tasting guide before making a purchase. Asis the policy with the <strong>International</strong> <strong>Wine</strong> <strong>Review</strong>, none of thewines included in our tasting guide scored below 85 points.<strong>Wine</strong>s that fall below this standard are simply omitted.In this, our 4th report, The <strong>International</strong> <strong>Wine</strong> <strong>Review</strong> assessesthe current state of Syrah produced in California and the Northwest,and examines the future prospects for this noble grape.In this report we will look at the origins of Syrah, and explorehow it came to be in the U.S. We will examine how the grapeperforms in the vineyard, and in the winery. We will look at pairingSyrah with food. We will investigate the issues of style andthe impact of climate. We will consider the topic of high alcohollevels, and explore the movement toward cooler vineyard sites.And we will make some surprising predictions for the future.The report also includes our extensive tasting notes and ratings.There is set of tables that provides readers with a useful easyaccess guide to all the wines categorized by price and ratings.AcknowledgementsMany people contributed valuable knowledge to this reportand we wish to thank them: John Alban, Bob Lindquist, SethKunin, Bob Betz MW, Bradley Brown, Craig Jaffurs, Carol Merideth,Steve Lagier , Kevin Robinson, Lise Ciolino, and BruceZoecklein, We also wish to thank Jim Arseneault , MichaelFlynn, Nadine Brown, and Roy Wagner for their help in organizingand conducting our tastings. Last but not least,we wish to express our appreciation to the staff of the Hospicedu Rhone for their help in publicizing the report and in obtainingwine samples from member wineries.The Origin of SyrahSyrah, like all wine grapes, is not indigenous to California, or thenorthwest. It is an ancient grape that has been produced in theRhone Valley of France for over 2000 years. Until recently, however,there were two prevailing theories regarding the originsof this grape and how it had arrived in the Rhone. Both of thesetheories proved to be wrong.The first theory was that Syrah was brought to France by thearmies of Probus during the beginning of the 1st century A.D.Vine cuttings were reportedly taken from Egypt, and broughtover by way of Syracuse, in Sicily, by the Roman Legions thatwould occupy Gaul. The name Syrah was believed to have beenderived from the town of Syracuse.The other, more widely spread belief was that this grape wasindigenous to Persia, now Iran, and consequently it was namedafter the town of Shiraz. Hence the Australia/South Africanname for Syrah: Shiraz. Crusaders were thought to have broughtthe vine back during the 11th century. Alternately, the Greekswere thought to have brought it to southern France as far backas the 6th century B.C.Thanks to DNA testing, both these theories were proven to bemyths. In 2001, Dr. Carole Meredith, formerly of the Universityof California, Davis, and French Ampelographer, Jean-MichelBoursiquot, of L’École Nationale Supérieure Agromonique deMontpellier, revealed that Syrah was the offspring of two obscuregrapes, Dureza and Moudeuse Blanche. They also revealedthat Syrah is, in fact, indigenous to France, and, in particular, theRhone Valley. Ironically, neither Dureza, a red grape native to theArdèche, nor Mondeuse Blanche, a white grape native to theSavoie, is considered a grape of any consequence on its own.This has led to speculation that the cross occurred naturally.Jay Youmans, MWMichael Potashnik, Ph. DPublishers, <strong>International</strong> <strong>Wine</strong> <strong>Review</strong>
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